Bellmore and Merrick communities remember Sept. 11 attacks

The Bellmore and Merrick communities gathered on Wednesday to reflect on the 23rd anniversary of Sept. 11. 

Two separate ceremonies take place annually — in Bellmore, with the Bellmore and North Bellmore Fire Departments, and in Merrick, with the Merrick and North Merrick Fire Departments.

At the Bellmore ceremony in front of the Bellmore Fire Department’s headquarters on Pettit Avenue, the department remembered its two volunteers and New York City firefighters Kevin Prior and Adam Rand, who died while performing rescue operations on the day of the attacks. In 2008, the department also lost volunteer firefighter Sean McCarthy, who responded to ground zero, and succumbed to a 9/11-related cancer.

In Merrick, the ceremony is perhaps best known for the massive American Flag, that is hung parallel to Sunrise Highway, often grabbing the attention of many passerby, who honk in support of the department.

Each year, wreathes are laid for ex-chief Ronnie Gies, and ex-captain Bryan Sweeney, who gave their lives that day. Gies’s three sons are all members of the department.