A small crowd gathered Wednesday evening to commemorate the 9-11 terror attack on the United States and remember 13 victims from West Hempstead.
Speakers noted that the pleasant weather and nearly cloudless sky was reminiscent of the morning in 2001 when calm was shattered by hijacked airplanes devastating the World Trade Center and Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people and forever changing the lives of thousands more.
“It is our civic duty to remember these acts, so we don’t have to repeat them,” said Maureen Greenberg of the West Hempstead Community Support Association, which organizes the annual event at Hall’s Pond, where a piece of twisted steel from one of the towers serves as a permanent memorial.
Assemblyman Ed Ra noted that the death toll goes on, with first responders and others succumbing to 9/11-related illnesses from toxic air, a toll now believed to have surpassed the gruesome tally of the violent day itself.
“America stays strong because of us,” said Nassau County Legislator Bill Gaynor. “We will never give in to the hate and vitriol against us.”
In his benediction, Rabbi Art Vernon of the Jewish Community Center of West Hempstead called on God to “help is support and heal the wounds of these losses, and be with those struggling with afflictions.”
Children from Scout troops deposited a candle and a rose at the memorial for each of the local victims:
Scott D. Bart, 28; Bruce Douglas Boehm, 49; Jason Cefalu, 30; Kevin Nathaniel Colbert, 25; Robert J. DeAngelis, 47; Jeffrey M. Dingle, 32; John Joseph Fanning, 54; Winston Arthur Grant, 59; Ralph M. Licciardi, 30; Robert Thomas Linnane, 33; Mark Schwartz, 50; and William V. Steckman, 56.
Recently added to the memorial was Ex-assistant Fire chief Cantellmo of the Lakeview Fire Department died in last year from lung issues related to 9/11.
