Putnam Reflects on Fallen Heroes

It’s been 10 years since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, and throughout Putnam County, signs of both recovery and pain are visible.

A permanent mark is the Heroes Memorial at the intersection of Route 52 and Fair Street in Carmel. The names of the eight folks with ties to Putnam who died in the attacks are etched on the structure.

The Brewster/Carmel Garden Club maintains the site and Mary Beckett, one of the co-presidents, takes pride in keeping the memorial in high regard for all who see it on a daily basis — or just once in a while.

"We feel dedicated to this memorial, being able to maintain it as a tribute to the heroes of 9/11," she said.

The structure was erected in November of 2002, according to organizers Jim O'Neil, a former member of the New York Police Department, and Dennis Shanrahan, a former member of the Fire Department of New York. Both the physical memorial and a respective website honoring those eight men are intended to keep their memories alive.

"The goal here was a memorial filled with dignity," said O'Neil, who coordinated emergency vehicles entrance and exit out of Manhattan that day and the weeks that followed.

O'Neil was very close with Stephen Driscoll, an NYPD officer and Sept. 11 victim. He remarked on the importance of remembering the devastating day and how it took some time for Putnam Country to "return to normalcy."

"Everyone has their own way of dealing with tragedy," he said, "My sense of coming from the professional end is that everybody did go back to normal at different times. It never ends for the families that lost love ones — we all understand death, but when you lose somebody in an unexpected way, it was a whole different impact.”

Stephen Driscoll’s younger sister, Gail Driscoll of Lake Carmel, spoke to Patch about her brother, who was 38 when he died. 

"Its such a great loss, and no one will every replace him,” she said. "They'll never take his memory away." 

Born on the Fourth of July, Stephen Driscoll left behind a wife and son. He is also a police officer. 

As the years have passed, college scholarships, as well as the Stephen Driscoll Purple Heart Award, have been awarded to keep his memory and name alive. The scholarships are generally given to students who embody Stephen's traits.

"That was my brother," Gale Driscoll said. "[He was] always helping out."

Gail refers to the year proceeding 9/11 as "the worst year” of her life. She last saw her brother on her daughter's second birthday: Sept. 10, 2001. Stephen Driscoll’s body was found at Ground Zero almost two months later, on Nov. 8.

"It was like we brought him home," Gail said. 

Since then, Gail and the rest of the Driscolls have attempted to move forward with their lives. Even though fear and anxiety does creep into their minds sometimes, especially when it comes to flying or venturing into lower Manhattan, the family is determined to not let terrorism win.

"They got us once but that’s the end of it,” Gail said. “We’re not frightened of them.”