Community Corner
Garden City Fire Department Holds 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony
Program commemorates the 17th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
Garden City firefighters held a remembrance ceremony at the Village’s 9/11 Memorial on the Village Green Tuesday to solemnly pause and remember the fallen on the 17th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The program paid tribute to those Garden City residents that perished during the attack on the World Trade Center, the 343 members of the New York Fire Department, 23 members of the New York Police Department and 37 members of the Port Authority Police Department killed, as well as those who have died of 9/11-related illnesses.
Rev. Stephen Tamke, who grew up in Garden City, and Monsignor James Swiader, pastor of Saint Joseph Church, offered the opening and closing prayers.
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“At this monument today, when we gather here next year, and every year after that, nobody can promise that you will hurt a little less. Nobody can promise you there will ever be a time when you do not feel the emptiness. We can only promise that you will have a solemn place to remember and mourn, to reflect and to move on, each in our own way,” Assistant Chief Thomas Strysko said. “Let this monument provide all of us here in Garden City with a daily reminder to take nothing for granted, appreciate our freedoms, count our blessings, strive to help our fellow man and cherish our friends and families.”
On behalf of the Garden City community, Mayor Brian Daughney thanked Fire Chief Brian Gallo and members of the Garden City Fire Department for conducting such a touching ceremony. "As many of us continue our journey of healing, we hope this annual remembrance ceremony brings a bit of comfort to help us get through this difficult day," he said.
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Fellow Board members as well as members of Garden City’s executive staff joined
Mayor Daughney on the Village Green. A local Boy Scout troop also attended, as did local representatives and school district personnel.
The names of the 23 residents who perished were read during the ceremony. Their names are etched in the memorial monument stone on the Village Green.
