Long Beach honors the fallen

“It’s a day that profoundly impacted our nation,” Capt. Al Fuentes, of the New York City Fire Department’s Marine Division, said during last Sunday’s memorial ceremony at the Firemen’s Memorial at Lafayette Boulevard and West Park Avenue, in honor of the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

Fuentes, a Long Beach resident, was pinned beneath a steel girder and heaps of rubble after he raced to search for survivors in the collapsed north tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. He was later pulled from the rubble.

“I witnessed the worst and best in humanity — I will never forget that day,” Fuentes said, emphasizing that those who lost their lives must never be forgotten. “All I ask is that we honor their memory. And by remembering their memory, we remember how we came together as a nation.”

Nearly 100 people gathered at the Firemen’s Memorial, including members of the Long Beach Fire Department and city officials, to honor the memory of those who died on 9/11. City Councilman Len Torres, Council Vice President Mona Goodman and Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg spoke during an emotional service, with many shedding tears and holding onto loved ones for comfort.

Goodman, who read the names of Long Beach residents who died that day, emphasized that life should be cherished and never taken for granted, and noted the importance of remaining united as Americans.

Long Beach Fire Chief Rich Corbett stressed the importance of never forgetting those who stood in harm’s way to save others. “As you can see, it’s an emotional time,” Corbett said. “I’d like to thank everyone for coming out today — please remember the [first] responders’ families [today].”

Weisenberg said after the ceremony that the outpouring of support he saw 10 years ago — when people selflessly tended to those who were injured or in need — illustrated the “character and quality of human beings in this country,” and across New York state.