As it has every year, the Garden City Fire Department, community members and village officials gathered together for a solemn 9/11 remembrance service held at the Village Memorial on the Village Green last Saturday.
Garden City Fire Chief William Graham said the simple memorial ceremony pays tribute to the 23 village residents whose names are now etched on the black granite memorial monument. “I think today it is important that we commemorate the day, that we turn together as a community for those who are lost, for the families who are still with us. That’s something that needs to continue,” Graham said.
After the Pledge of Allegiance, led by Mayor Rothschild, and a prayer said by Ex-Chief John Casey, Chief Graham read a few remarks from a Garden City resident who lost her husband in the 9/11 terror attacks. The resident spoke at an earlier service and praised the community for their support. “We thank the people of the town of Garden City and its merchants who made certain the families and their children were not forgotten. Delivering baskets of food, notes of sympathy and encouragement and later, even funds for the children’s education,” Graham read.
Graham concluded with his own words, “Here we stand today as a community to show that our commitment to these families has not changed and that we still share their losses.”
First Assistant Chief Charles Cavarra led a candle-lighting ceremony to honor those who perished in the attacks, including the police, firemen and first responders. Garden City firefighters surrounded the memorial and, two by two, members placed a single rose and American flag in front of the memorial. Small candles were lit and a bell sounded after each of the 23 victims’ names were read.
Mayor Rothschild, who stood alongside members of the Village Board of Trustees, expressed his sentiment on the day’s remembrance ceremony. “I think a lot of people really appreciate the central place where we can all come, that’s the great thing about this memorial; it’s a place we can all come and sit quietly and think about the loved ones that we had…almost everyone in this village knew someone that was lost that day, and today is just a day you try to prove to the family and their friends that we haven’t forgotten and never will. I want to thank the Fire Department Chief and all the guys did a great job, which they do every year,” the mayor said.
The names of the 23 village residents who are etched on the memorial monument are: Thomas Brennan, Jonathan Neff Cappello, Paul Cascio, Michelle Coyle-Eulau, Laurence Curia, Michael DiAgostino, William Dimmling, Christopher Dunne, Paul Eckna, Michael Hardy Edwards, Ex-Captain Robert Ferris, GCFD, Peter Genco, Ryan Kohart, David Leistman, Robert McLaughlin, Jr., James Murphy IV, James Ostrowski, Durrell Pearsall, FDNY, James Smith, Eric Thomas Steen, John Swaine, Kevin Szocik and Stephen Tompsett.
