West Babylon Teen Reveals 9/11 Memorial Project

WEST BABYLON, NY - Just in time for the 17th anniversary of the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, West Babylon student helped to create a memorial in honors of those who died that day.

Liam Reiff, 16, helped bring the memorial as part of his Eagle Scout project.

On Saturday, the memorial was unveiled in a ceremony at West Babylon High School. The project included photos of local residents who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001 or as a result of the attacks that day in front of the memorial.

Reiff spent a year working on the project and received support from the community including the New York City Fire Commissioner who donated a piece of steel that was recovered from the World Trade Center following that attack for the project with help from the family of Deputy Chief Raymond Downey Sr., a local resident who died in the attack.

He also received the granite beams, plaques and soil used in the project as donations from local businesses and community members.

"This morning’s dedication of West Babylon’s 911 memorial at our high was a huge success," the school district wrote in a post on Facebook on Saturday. "Thank you to all who donated their time and/or materials for this heartfelt Eagle Scout project and thank you to all our trustees, administrators, teachers and community members who came to support Liam and honor all who lost their lives on 9/11 or as a result of 9/11."

Reiff told Newsday that he came up with the idea after noticing that West Babylon didn't have a Sept. 11 memorial like some other times and spent nearly a year working on the project to reveal it in time for the 17th anniversary on Tuesday.

The memorial also features seedling the "Survivor Tree" that was found still standing at the World Trade Center following the attack as a "living reminder of resilience, survival and rebirth," Newsday reports.

Photos: Facebook.com/West Babylon UFSD