9/11 committee prepares for remembrance

More than 20 years later, members of the Seaford 9/11 Memorial Committee hope community members will once again honor those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.

The committee, a nonprofit organization, is planning its annual memorial candle-lighting ceremony at the commemorative plaza at Seaford High School on Monday. Service, character and commitment are the committee’s theme, which has a history of giving back to the community and creating positive experiences for its youth.

“I never could have imagined it being so significant, and having such an impact on so many thousands of people and so many thousands of students,” Chairman Tom Condon said of the committee.

The group was established to honor the memory of five Seaford High School graduates who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center: Thomas and Timothy Haskell, Robert Sliwak, John William Perry and Michael Wittenstein.

Condon, who started his teaching career at Seaford High in 1969, knew the five men when they were students. He was Sliwak’s and Tom Haskell’s social studies teacher, a guidance counselor for Perry, and he knew Wittenstein through student activities. After the events of 9/11, Condon met with the men’s families to figure out how best to honor their memory.

“We promised the parents that, anything that we did, we would stay within the mission,” Condon said of the committee’s commitment to service, “and we would do it in a first-class fashion, or we wouldn’t do it.”

In 2002, the committee inaugurated a number of events that continue to this day. That June, they created the Patriot Award, a scholarship given to five graduating Seaford High seniors for their service, character and commitment during their high school years. Two months later, they broke ground on the memorial at the high school.

“As far as always remembering our five alumni, and also as far as a memorial itself, it’s set up as a historical time piece,” Condon said of the commemorative plaza.

It was designed to be an educational space, and there are five plaques dedicated to the alumni who died. In 2016, a large, white granite stone with the words “Always remember” was added, and includes three pieces of the World Trade Center wreckage.

Near the memorial is a survivor tree, a cutting from a Callery pear tree near ground zero that was severely damaged. The tree was brought back to life and planted at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Cuttings from the tree were given to other memorials, and Seaford’s tree is cutting No. 14.

For Condon, having the memorial at the high school helps students — who were born after 9/11 — remember the alumni, and all the victims of the attacks.

“Focusing on the five, and having the students connect with them, they identify with them,” he said.

According to Condon, the memorial committee wanted serving the community to be an integral part of the Seaford district. Members established the Pathways to Service program, which provides community service opportunities to Seaford High School students. Those who complete the program receive official designation on their diplomas.

“For the students who have graduated and look back on it,” Condon said of the program, “it really opens their eyes to go beyond themselves, and they are very thankful for that.”

Last Saturday, as the Herald went to press, students, service members and past Patriot Award winners were scheduled to help set up the Field of Honor on the high school lawn. The volunteers planned to place some 400 flags on the lawn as part of the preparation for Monday’s ceremony.

For the candle-lighting itself, Condon says there will be a bell toll and support from the Nassau County Police Department’s pipe and drum band, along with a performance of the national anthem by the high school band.

In January, Condon had the hamlet’s memorial and programs added to the 9/11 national registry. For Condon, it was an honor to be recognized, but he always knew how special the memorial is.

“That’s quite a tribute to the Seaford school district, the students, the community itself, and the alumni,” he said of the registry.