Memorializing Franklin Square lives lost in 9/11 attacks, 23 years later
Community members gathered for a solemn service last Sunday at Franklin Square’s Sept. 11 Memorial, in Rath Park, to remember the 25 residents who died in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center 23 years ago.
Roughly 150 neighbors attended the annual memorial ceremony, at which members of the Franklin Square and Munson Fire Department recalled the sacrifices neighbors made on Sept. 11, 2001.
“We gather to honor and remember those who have gone before us,” John Novello, ex-captain of FSMFD, said. “We gather to pay tribute to the human spirit rising above tragedy. We gather to admire the integrity and commitment of the fallen.”
As each name of those who died was read aloud, family, friends and firefighters places roses on a steel remnant of the Trade Center towers in their honor. They included police officers, firefighters and those who were working in the towers that morning.
Those honored during the ceremony served in the:
- Franklin Square and Munson Fire Department
- Lakeview Fire Department
- Floral Park Fire Department
- Wantagh Fire Department
- New York City Fire Department
- Merrick Fire Department
- Bethpage Fire Department
- Hicksville Fire Department
- South Hempstead Fire Department
- Great Neck Vigilant
- Meadowmere Park Fire Department
- Levittown Fire Department
- Hempstead Fire Department
- New York City Police Department
- Roslyn Rescue
- Port Authority Police Department
- Freeport Fire Department
- Bellmore Fire Department
“Today we stand united in grief, but also in resilience, carrying their legacies forward in our hearts and in our actions,” Deacon Doug Ferreiro, of Chruch of the Holy Spirit in New Hyde Park, said in the memorial address. He spoke of the acts of heroism and sacrifice of those who rushed to help 23 years ago.
The last two roses placed memorialized firefighters who have since died of 9/11-related illnesses — in particular, the FSMFD fire commissioner and honorary chief, Joseph Torregrossa, in March 2022, and the FSMFD’s honorary chief, Christopher Dand, in March of this year.
“Both were committed to serving the community through their fire service as well as loving families,” Ferreiro said. “These men, and all who perished that day, can never, and will never, be forgotten.”
“This date, 9/11, carries a heavy burden of memory,” FSMFD Deacon Carole Brosnan said in her invocation. “And it is right that it should not pass from our memory.”
Ferreiro asked the crowd to look to the future, and noted the importance of continued unity. “We owe it to those we lost to build a world where such tragedies are never ever repeated,” he said, “where peace and understanding prevail over hatred and division.”
A quilt created by Franklin Square seniors and an H. Frank Carey High School student Tara McDonald also made an appearance at the ceremony. Its 50 patches represent the 50 states, and it has traveled the country to help people remember those who died on Sept. 11. It will soon be on display in the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in Manhattan.
