Honoring, remembering 9/11 victims

“May God give us the courage to build again.” Those were the words of the Rev. William Breslawski of Our Lady of Peace during the invocation at Lynbrook’s annual 9/11 memorial last Friday. About 100 people attended the ceremony, which took place behind Village Hall, at the memorial to the 19 Lynbrook men and women who died in the attacks. After Andrea Arias Martin sang the national anthem, members of the village board read the names of the victims. Family members who lost loved ones placed white roses on their memorial plaques.

Trustee Alan Beach said it has been hard to put the pain aside from that terrible morning, and he hopes that no matter how much time passes, the community will always remember what happened. “Let us never forget what the terrorists have done to us,” Beach said. “The terrorists of 9/11 have changed our world forever.” After the Glor na Gael Pipe Band performed “Amazing Grace,” Rabbi Howard Diamond offered some words of hope. “We need to pray for guidance ...,” Diamond said. “Pray for peace and for justice, and that this will never happened again.” Shannon Wren, who lost her grandfather, William Wren, in the attacks, said she thought the ceremony was beautiful, and that no matter how many years pass, the pain of that day remains with her. “They really did a great job,” Wren said of the ceremony. “But this never gets any easier. People may get over it, but this is something that always stays with me.” Lynbrook resident Gladys Kaufman, 50, who lost some close friends in the attacks, said that the anniversary always saddens her. “You feel for everyone,” she said. “I’m depressed that we have not gotten to the root of this. We are still losing Americans every day.” Patricia Fitzsimons, who lost her husband, Richard, said she thought it was wonderful how the community came out to honor those who died. The pain of losing her husband, though, she said, still grows inside her. “It may get a little easier during the year, but when this day comes, it brings it all back,” Fitzsimons said. “I still have a broken heart.” Mayor Brian Curran closed the hour-long ceremony with some words of encouragement. “That day, the streets of heaven were flooded with 3,000 angels,” he said. “It is my core belief that someday you will see them on the steps of heaven, patiently waiting for you.” East Rockaway remembers Changing the venue for the East Rockaway 9/11 Memorial Service due to rain seemed like a small inconvenience last Friday evening, when almost 200 people filled Village Hall to honor, remember and pray for the victims of the tragedy that touched and, in some way, changed all of the survivors’ lives eight years ago at the World Trade Center. “The rain and wind cannot sweep away the heroism, the bravery and the memories of loved ones,” said village Trustee Irene Villacci, who coordinated the village-sponsored ceremony, as she greeted the crowd. “The American spirit continues to soar since the towers fell. Tonight, as every year since, we will remember.” With bagpipes playing, a Boy Scout color guard marched into Village Hall’s main room, flags raised. Molloy student and East Rockaway resident Tom Barone sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” as dozens of voices joined in. Standing in the front row, as they have every year since they lost their firefighter son, Patrick, in the attacks, Anne and Patrick O’Keefe, both 83, of East Rockaway, stood shoulder to shoulder, their loss still etched on their faces. “He called his wife, Karen, and said he was going in,” Anne O’Keefe said, without prompting, referring to the events that morning. “He called her when he got to the tower.” Patrick, the second youngest of the O’Keefes’ five children, attended St. Raymond’s School and East Rockaway High School. He was a firefighter with Rescue 1 in Manhattan when he got the emergency call to go to the World Trade Center, and died after he entered the north tower. He was 44, and left behind his wife and two children — Jennifer, now 26, and Timothy, now 22. “This service gets better every year,” said Anne. “It’s something you never get over ... but we always choose to come to [East Rockaway’s] ceremonies. It was just lovely this year.” The Rev. Stephen Hurkens, pastor of the Nazarene Church in East Rockaway, said that Sept. 11, 2001, was “the day that the world changed.” “This event will forever be memorialized and remembered,” Hurkens said, “not only by those who were directly affected by the loss of a loved one, but by every true, red-blooded American.” “We come together as one people, as one nation,” said Hempstead Town Councilman Anthony Santino, “as Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus ... all faiths and all walks of life, we come together as one to remember.” Michael Golden, a retired Nassau County police captain, was working at Merrill Lynch in the World Trade Center in 2001. “My instincts kicked that day, and I responded,” Golden recalled. “I was a Recon Marine, a police officer, and I was proud to say that I remembered what I was taught — and my responses were immediate.” Golden said he got “his people” out, and the next thing he knew, he was standing in rubble. “The fire department hosed me down,” Golden went on, “and I became a piece of cement ... I couldn’t move. It was a horrible feeling. But these men were taking care of me as I was taking care of others.” Comments about this story? MMalloy@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 202.