Community Corner
Remembering 9/11: Volunteer Firefighters Hold Ceremony
Solemn service pays tribute to the fallen.
To commemorate the 16th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Garden City Volunteer Firefighters held a remembrance service at the Village’s 9/11 Memorial on the Village Green.
The ceremony also paid tribute to the 343 members of the Fire Department New York, 23 members of the New York Police Department and 37 members of the Port Authority Police Department killed during the attacks on the World Trade Center.
“These solemn ceremonies on September 11 will always be more than a remembrance of the past, more than a tribute to the lives lost years ago,” Chief Brian Gallo said. “These ceremonies today and always will be a remembrance and tribute to the friends and family we’ve lost.”
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On behalf of the Garden City community, Mayor Brian Daughney thanked Chief Gallo and the volunteers for conducting such a touching ceremony. “It was a moving ceremony that remembers the many lives lost right here in Garden City. We hope it brings comfort to those grieving. We have not forgotten,” he said.
Members of the Board of Trustees attended Monday evening’s ceremony, along with Village Administrator Ralph Suozzi and Police Commissioner Kenneth Jackson. Senator Kemp Hannon and Nassau County Legislator Laura Schaefer were also in attendance.
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“On behalf of Chief Gallo, Mayor Daughney and the officers and members of the Garden City Fire Department, thank you for attending today’s ceremony. Today we remember and we feel both loss and comfort. Today we reflect and continue our journey of healing. And even as we continue our quest for understanding, we have learned that each person leaves a mark on this earth. We celebrate the strength and character that defined each one of them and continues to inspire each of us,” Firefighter Ken Moody said during closing remarks.
The names of the 23 residents who died were read aloud and a candle lit in their honor. The playing of Taps followed. The residents’ names are etched in the memorial monument stone on the Village Green:
- • Thomas M. Brennan
- • Jonathan Neff Cappello
- • Paul Cascio
- • Michele Coyle-Eulau
- • Laurence Curia
- • Michael L. DiAgostino
- • William J. Dimmling
- • Christopher J. Dunne
- • Paul Eckna
- • Michael Hardy Edwards
- • Robert J. Ferris
- • Peter V. Genco
- • Ryan A. Kohart
- • David Leistman
- • Robert C. McLaughlin Jr.
- • James F. Murphy, IV
- • James R. Ostrowski
- • Durrell Pearsall
- • James G. Smith
- • Eric Thomas Steen
- • John F. Swaine
- • Kevin T. Szocik
- • Stephen K. Tompsett
