Tenth Anniversary Of 9/11 Observed In Sandy Hook

By Shannon Hicks

On the tenth anniversary of 9/11, emergency services personnel from Newtown’s five volunteer fire companies, its volunteer ambulance corps, a police officer, elected officials, and a member of the clergy all gathered outside the Sandy Hook Fire & Rescue main station to honor those who lost their lives and thank those who continue to protect and serve Newtown’s residents in myriad ways. As attendees arrived at the firehouse on Riverside Road, they were greeted by the sight of a 20- by 30-foot American flag hanging above the roadway. Ladder trucks held the flag aloft, with Sandy Hook’s vehicle in its parking lot and Hook & Ladder’s across the way on Sunnyview Terrace, offering a gateway under which all were able to pass that morning.

Under the direction of EMS Captain Karin Halstead, Sandy Hook Fire & Rescue hosted a tenth anniversary commemoration of 9/11 on Sunday, September 11. Under a blue sky dotted with puffy clouds, more than 100 people gathered for the event, which offered words of comfort and thanks, a prayer, and songs.

More than 90 attendees were seated for the event, and a few dozen more people stood behind them.

Western Connecticut State University student Kaitlyn Bogue opened the ceremony with an a cappella offering of “Amazing Grace.” Color guards from Sandy Hook and Botsford Fire Rescue participated, carrying flags into the area where attendees and participants had gathered.

Kevin Cragin, chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners, served as the morning’s emcee. Following The Pledge of Allegiance, Mr Cragin reminded everyone that the people who died on September 11, 2001, were not only 343 firefighters and 60 police officers, “but also people not that much different than those of us gathered here today.”

Bill Halstead, chief of Sandy Hook Fire & Rescue, thanked everyone for attending the “important tribute.”

“We join together today to compassionately honor and remember the almost 3,000 individuals who were killed on September 11, 2001, in the terrorist attacks on America, as well as those who were injured during the attacks and the many who rose in service in response,” he said. “These include first responders, volunteers, rescue and recovery workers, uniformed safety personnel and the hundreds of thousands of others who serve, or have served in our armed forces here at home and overseas … We are unified today by our human decency and our universal compassion for the well-being of others.”

Mr Cragin’s next duty was to acknowledge each branch of Newtown’s emergency responders. Members of each of Newtown’s fire companies attended the event, and one from each department participated in an honor guard that stood silently behind the podium during the ceremony. Mr Cragin introduced each at this point: Chief Wayne Ciaccia represented his company, Botsford Fire Rescue. Joining him was Don Hutchins, representing Hawleyville Fire & Rescue; Robert Manna, Newtown Hook & Ladder Company #1; Richard “Archie” Paloian from Sandy Hook Fire & Rescue; and Jason Shuttleworth of Dodgingtown Volunteer Fire.

In addition, the honor guard included Maureen Will, the director of the Department of Emergency Communications; Cathy Dahlmeyer, a member of Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps; Fred LeMay, of Newtown Underwater Search And Rescue; and Michael Nardecchia, assistant chief, Southbury Volunteer Firemen’s Association. Ms Halstead had invited Mr Nardecchia and members of the Southbury company as a form of thanks for the mutual aid the town’s fire department regularly offers to Sandy Hook, and by extension, to Newtown.

Like others who spoke on Sunday, Monsignor Robert Weiss, the senior pastor of St Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, began his visit to the podium by thanking “all of you who serve us … [and being] grateful for your willingness to put your lives on the line every day.” He called the day bittersweet, saying, “As much as we try to recover, the pain is still evident. Certainly, freedom has a price to it.”

Before offering a prayer, he also shared a message that had been issued by Pope Benedict XVI: “I join you in commending the thousands of victims to the infinite mercy of Almighty God and in asking our heavenly Father to continue to console those who mourn the loss of loved ones,” he read in part: “Once again, it must be unequivocally stated that no circumstances can ever justify acts of terrorism. Every human life is precious in God’s sight and no effort should be spared in the attempt to promote throughout the world a genuine respect for the inalienable rights and dignity of individuals and peoples everywhere. The American people are to be commended for the courage and generosity that they showed in the rescue operations and for their resilience in moving forward with hope and confidence.”

“It’s amazing,” said Monsignor Weiss, “that even from Rome, this man feels our pain today.”

Selectman Will Rodgers, who was serving as a Marine Corps Reservist in Washington, D.C., on 9/11, shared a story about a young woman, a JAG officer who had decided to focus her energy on her love of gymnastics and had transferred out of D.C. Her last communication before 9/11, when she died, was an enthusiastic e-mail that came with the subject line “New job, new coast, new life!”

“Her memory, like all others, should never be forgotten,” Mr Rodgers said. “We lost our innocence on 9/11. We are a more vigilant, a less carefree nation. But we are also a stronger nation.

“Whether it was ten years ago, when those men and women rushed into those towers, or two weeks ago, when all of you,” he said, looking around at the men and women in their dress uniforms, “going out on hundreds of service calls during [Tropical Storm Irene].

“We’ve grown better,” he said. “The best way to honor those who died on 9/11 is to continue to succeed, continue to be unified.”

The morning’s first moment of silence followed Mr Rodgers’s remarks. Sandy Hook Firefighter Richard Conrod rang a silver bell once, coinciding to the minute the 8:46 am crash ten years earlier of American Airlines Flight 111 into the World Trade Center North Tower.

State Representative Christopher Lyddy was in his first year of college when 9/11 happened. He spoke of seeking his then-roommate, “this big burly football playing guy, with tears streaming down his face” when he woke up that morning. “I wondered what kind of weird movie I was waking up to,” Mr Lyddy said.

At the podium on Sunday, he said he woken up that morning with a lump in his throat that had begun to subside on his drive to the fire station, “only to have it return when it saw that flag hanging across the road,” he said, his voice shaking just a bit. “We must remember, always, the people who ran up those stairs while we were running out.

“Two weeks ago you all ran into our homes while we bunkered down,” he said. “Thank you all for what you do.”

Newtown Police Captain Joe Rios was the final speaker. He, too, encouraged attendees to continue to honor the memories of those who had died ten years earlier.

“Celebrate them with kindness, not cruelty; with service, not selfishness; with love, not hate; with hope, not fear; with freedom, not repression,” he said. “Commemorate the anniversary of 9/11 by honoring our heroes.”

Kevin Cragin requested another moment of silence, and then narrated a series of single bell ringings. While these did not correlate the way the earlier tolling had, each ringing of the bell nevertheless honored the moments when United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower of the World Trade Center, the crash of American Airlines Fight 77 into the Pentagon, the collapse of the South Tower of the World Trade Center, the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville, Penn.; and the collapse of the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Kaitlyn Bogue concluded the ceremony with a verse of “God Bless America,” followed by the national anthem.

An unexpected addition to the morning’s gathering was the display by Sandy Hook resident Lois Barber of a piece of steel from the World Trade Center and a Halligan bar that was reportedly used by a firefighter at Ground Zero. Mrs Barber was involved in having pieces delivered recently to The Military Museum of Southern New England, where they have become part of the Danbury museum’s permanent collection. She was able to put them on display Sunday morning in Sandy Hook as well.

The items were placed in front of the podium. Firefighters and the public alike treated the pieces with reverence, taking photos and approaching the items with awe and honor.

(Visit NewtownBee.com, and search for this story under the Features tab to find a slideshow with more photos from Sunday’s ceremony.)