North Fork Fire Departments Honor Lost On 9/11: Photos

PECONIC, NY — A solemn ceremony of remembrance was held by firefighters on 9/11 in Peconic to honor the lost 20 years after 9/11.

Organized by the Southold Town Fire Chiefs Council, the event drew fire departments from all North Fork fire departments. Fire trucks lined the entrance to Jean Cochran Park in Peconic, where 2,977 flags, blowing in the night wind, were placed at a ceremony earlier on Saturday in honor of the souls lost on 9/11.

Firefighters filed solemnly to the "Morning Call" monument where they gathered for prayer and a ceremonial laying of the wreath as bagpipes wailed in the day's fading light.

A group of firefighters, as they do every year, walked from the Greenport Fire Department to the park in Peconic, a distance that spans six miles and takes more than three hours, to honor the fallen.

Chaplain Tom Roslak of the Cutchogue Fire Department led a prayer: "It is a time for remembrance, resolve, and renewal," he said. He said those lost to COVID-19 were also mourned and prayed for the first responders and others who risked their lives on 9/11 and died "in their courageous efforts to save others."

Roslak also remembered how the nation responded to the "terrifying events of these days — a return to prayer. We turned to one another to offer help and support...We resolve today and always to reject hatred and resist terrorism. The greatest resource we have in these struggles is faith."

Roslak added that after 9/11, people came together across religious, political, social, and ethnic lines to stand together as one people to heal. "Let us pray that the lasting legacy of 9/11 is not fear but rather hope for a world renewed," he said.