Blue Mass & Dedication of Nanuet Senior's 9/11 Eagle Scout Project at St. Margaret's Church

It’s been a week since September 11 and although most ceremonies are done, there was still one left. Nanuet Boy Scout Andrew Hawkins took on the task of reviving a 9/11 monument at his church, St. Margaret in Pearl River, as his Eagle Scout project.

The original monument consisted of a cross made from metal from the World Trade Center and a plaque. Both were kept in the new design, which was officially dedicated at a ceremony following a Blue Mass on Saturday.

Hawkins was the guest speaker for Mass that day.

“Building this memorial was more than just design and construction. It was a learning experience I will never forget,” he said. “I met individuals who lost loved ones. I learned of their suffering. I did this project for those people.

I gained a deeper understanding of the boy scout law. I saw that I made a difference in the lives of my fellow scouts. From the beginning to the end, he (St. Margaret Pastor Monsignor John O'Keefe) has supported me in this project.”

Hawkins has a personal tie to 9/11 so this project was important to him.

“John D’Allara was my friend’s dad,” he said. “And Joseph Marchbanks was my other friends’ dad. He lives on my block.”

The skies were clear for a Blue Mass. The title “Blue Mass” refers to the color of a police officer’s and firefighter’s uniform as well as the color of the priest’s vestments. All civic servants and military are asked to attend in dress uniform.

There were several items presented to recognize the 10^th anniversary of 9/11:

• Book of Remembrance that contains the names of all 9/11 victims from the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Flight 93.
• 9/11 cross – fashioned from steel remnants of the south tower
• Pyx, or a small communion container, of Fr. Mychal Judge OFM, Chaplain FDNY
• A replica of the twin towers
• An American flag which covered the casket of Captain Fred Ill FDNY of Pearl River
• Formal military academy parade hats of a cadet at West Point and a midshipman at the Naval Academy
• A police officer’s badge
• A firefighter’s helmet
• A stethoscope

A 9/11 memorial hymn was sung by soloist Terri Sorel, Mansions of the Lord by Soloist Daniel Gettler and Ave Maria by Danny Costello. Mass ended with the tolling of the fire bell, National Anthem and a procession to the 9/11 memorial.

“It’s breathtaking. It’s more than we thought,” said Sue Hawkins, Andrew’s mother. “When they laid the stones last week, it was just amazing. You have to come at night because the way they set up the lights onto the stones, it’s just peaceful.

The Hawkins have lived in the community for 15 years and Andrew and his sister were baptized at the Church of St. Margaret.

“We were walking along here and he said, ‘you know that there is a world trade center memorial here.’ And I said, ‘where?’” said Sue, recalling how it all started. “We looked and that little cross was in a deep hole. It was nothing. He said to me, ‘You know what I’m going to do? I’m going to restore that.’  It came together, it was meant to be.”

After everyone proceeded to the monument after Mass, A few words were said by O'Keefe before he blessed the monument and everyone adjourned to the reception afterwards.

“One of the interesting things that Andrew said in his speech was that he was brought to the other boy’s project, which was building a garden,” said O'Keefe, referring to the garden behind St. Margaret’s school. “When he saw that, he said, ‘I can’t build anything like this.’ And I put my hand on his shoulder and I said, ‘yes you can.’

“I’m relieved now that it’s done. It’s been a huge undertaking from the beginning until now to the end,” said Andrew’s father David. “I’m so proud of what he’s been able to accomplish. It’s been amazing from the inception to the work we did in the summertime to finishing up in the last couple of weeks. He’s had a lot of support from all the boy scouts and the local community.”

“Everyday in the heat they were here,” said O’Keefe. “Thank god for the tree (and its shade).” Some days went up to the 90s and on some of the days, a heat alert was issued by the Rockland County Health Department. However, they kept trucking on, staying cool in the shade and hydrated.

“It feels great; I feel relief and satisfaction at the same time,” said the Nanuet High School Senior, now that the entire thing was completed. “It was a lot of hard work and I’m glad this whole hectic week has come to an end and it’s really nice to see people come out and say nice things about it.”

Earlier this week, he had the last piece of the puzzle put in: the two 800-pound marble slabs with the engraved names of 9/11 victims

“We pulled a trailer in and we had a gantry system which lifted them up, put them on a cart, brought them over here where we had a tripod. We tethered it all up and picked it up. We put the rods in, set it down, then picked it up and flipped it all the way over. It was pretty extensive.”

Stop by and visit this monument. It’s definitely a sight to see.