A Gaping Hole in the American Heart

By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton

Caroline Glick: The war America fights

Each year since 09/11/2001, I post a tribute to Mark Shulman who perished in the towers on that fateful day. First, please visit Project 2996 and view tributes to the victims of 9-11. This year again I will light a candle for Mark and say a prayer in his name. He was a good man who was taken too soon from us in a senseless act of violence. Here is my original tribute.

This is NoisyRoom.net’s tribute to Mark Shulman through the September 11, 2001 Victims web site.

Mark was a fire prevention and risk consultant, who worked for Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. He was 47 when the tragedy struck him down and he was from Old Bridge, NJ. Matt attended Pratt Institute.

Mark was a dedicated consultant at the top of his field. He was by all accounts unselfish to a fault, loved his family with all his heart, hard-working and fun to be around. He loved sports and helping others. He was survived by his wife, Lori, and daughters Melissa, 17, and Jamie, 12. “His family always came first,” his mother Evelyn said. “He did everything for his family. I lost a treasure.” A memorial service was held for Mr. Shulman at Temple Shaari Emeth in Manalapan, New Jersey.

The following is a tribute to Mark from Patrick Jenkins published in THE STAR-LEDGER:

No Average Joe

Mark Shulman was a “kind of quiet guy who loved sports,” said his wife, Lori, suggesting the personality profile of an average Joe. But there was more.

He was, undeniably, a sports fan, attending Giants and Rangers games as often as possible, or taking them in on television at home in Old Bridge, N.J. But overriding all was a dedication to his daughters, Jamie, 13, and Melissa, 17, in whom he instilled a zest for accomplishment.

Mr. Shulman was the coach of Jamie’s soccer team, the Old Bridge Road Runners, spending weekends traveling to games across central New Jersey. He had been looking forward to Jamie’s bat mitzvah, which was celebrated on Nov. 17, a day Mrs. Shulman recalls as “bittersweet.”

He was also working closely with Melissa, a high school senior, on college applications. His advice was “go for the best,” Mrs. Shulman said, adding that “he would have been so proud” when news came this month of Melissa’s early admission to Princeton.

A 47-year-old mechanical engineer, Mr. Shulman worked as a fire protection specialist for Marsh & McClennan on the 100th floor of the World Trade Center.

“He did evacuation plans for clients,” Mr. Shulman said. “If anybody knew how to get out, he would have been the one.”

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on December 24, 2001.

Mark Shulman, 47, loved by all he knew

By day, Mark Shulman was a disaster inspector, fire prevention and risk consultant for Marsh & McLennan in New York. His nights and weekends were spent with his family.

He organized a baseball team for the Knights of Pythias in Old Bridge. He coached the Roadrunners girls soccer team there.

For the past 12 years, he took his wife Lori and daughters Melissa, 17, and Jamie, 12, to Disney World in Florida.

“He loved his family; he loved Disney World,” said his mother, Evelyn Shulman of Toms River.

On Tuesday, he was memorialized at a service at Temple Shaari Emeth in Manalapan. Mr. Shulman, 47, has not been seen since the World Trade Center was destroyed by terrorists Sept. 11. He worked on the 100th floor of Tower One.

“He was in the building when it was hit,” his mother said.

Though Mr. Shulman loved his job, it wasn’t his first priority, Evelyn Shulman said.

“His family always came first,” said his mother. “He did everything for his family. I lost a treasure.”

Shulman said her son loved everybody, a trait that was noticed by others.

“There were 800 people at the memorial service, and they gave him a tribute I will never forget. Everybody loved him,” she said.

Mr. Shulman received an engineering degree from Pratt Institute in New York and worked uptown before being transferred to the World Trade Center 17 years ago.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Mr. Shulman and his wife moved to Old Bridge 17 years ago.

Besides his wife and daughters, Mr. Shulman is survived by his parents Ira and Evelyn Shulman of Toms River; a brother, Larry of Port Jefferson, N.Y.; and nieces, nephews and other relatives.

There is not a lot more out there on Mark. All I can say is that Mark Shulman is truly missed and he was deeply loved. Our world is a much emptier place without him and I regret I never had the chance to meet him personally. But I can pray that justice will be done in his name and that Islamofascism will be soundly defeated and sent back to the dark ages where it belongs… Here’s to you Mark – someday we will meet and I will be proud to shake your hand.

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America has not forgotten Mark or any of the other Americans who gave their lives on that September morning. We still weep for them and call their names. We still long for justice that never came. We miss them and we long for them; above all we love them. We can never forget the atrocity visited on American soil in the name of religious fanaticism and evil intent. Our loss has left a gaping hole in the American heart. One that cries out not only for justice for those that died, but a return to how America was. The bravest and most free nation that history has ever known. As we remember on 9-11 this year, let us vow to return to the founding principles that this great nation was forged upon. Let us return to the true meaning and intent of our Constitution and rid ourselves of the Progressive infestation that is threatening our homes and our freedoms.

I part with you today in quiet contemplation of 9-11 and what is yet to come I fear. Shame on Mayor Bloomberg for excluding the clergy and the first responders from the 10th anniversary of 9-11. You sir, have no soul and you are an idiot. History will reflect on you very poorly indeed.

Please join us if you can at the 911 Rememberance – 911 Freedom Rally. Also feel free to sing Amazing Grace while Bloomberg speaks tomorrow. He can’t silence all of us, not yet any way.

America is still at war with radial Islam. But our leaders have never let us fight it head on. To survive, we must. Our government may not dare call our enemy by their name, but Americans will. We will fight to the death if need be to stave off the Jihadists. There is a gaping hole in America’s heart, but we will overcome and we will right our American ship. God help those who stand against us.