9/11 Boatlift 20th Anniversary To Be Honored By Huntington Town

HUNTINGTON, NY — The Town of Huntington has planned a ceremony for Sept. 3 to honor the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 boatlift — the largest marine evacuation in history — and the role a Huntington boat captain played in the rescue as the Twin Towers fell in the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The ceremony, set to honor Huntington boat captain James Schneider, is set for 11:15 a.m. Sept. 3 at Huntington Harbor in the parking lot next to the Harbor Club at Prime, at 95 New York Ave.

Millions of people ran for safety as the towers came down, and with every mode of transportation being shut down, the only way off of Manhattan Island was by boat. Hundreds of thousands of stranded New Yorkers ran to the water’s edge for help, the Town of Huntington wrote in its news release.

When Schneider heard the call for help from the U.S. Coast Guard on the marine radio, he put together a crew of 13 and headed to lower Manhattan to help any way they could. They joined the hundreds of boats that converged on lower Manhattan that day. The boats went back and forth, transporting as many people as the vessels could hold. Together, the boaters rescued nearly 500,000 lives in under 9 hours.

"Captain James and his crew heard the call for help, without regard for their own lives, these
brave men went to lower Manhattan without knowing what lied ahead," Councilman Mark Cuthbertson stated. "I am proud and honored to recognize these heroes."

The Town of Huntington recommended people watch "BOATLIFT, An Untold Tale of 9/11 Resilience," an 11-minute documentary narrated by Tom Hanks, to learn more about the 9/11 boatlift.