East Rockaway, Lynbrook hold 9/11 ceremonies

“So long as this memorial stands, so long as the village of East Rockaway endures, we will always remember the loss and feel the pain of the loved ones that you lost, and that we lost, on that horrific day.”

Those were the words of the Rev. Mark Lukens of the Bethany Congregational Church in East Rockaway as he opened the 9/11 memorial services last Saturday in Memorial Park.

The families of Andrew Stern and Michael Horn, both of whom attended school in East Rockaway and lost their lives in the attacks on the World Trade Center nine years ago, attended the ceremony. Village Trustee Irene Villacci, who coordinated the evening’s program, acknowledged the families and welcomed residents and guest speakers to the service.

“Our faiths don’t really have answers to the mysteries of evil,” said Monsignor Charles Romano, pastor of St. Raymond’s Roman Catholic Church in East Rockaway. “All of us together eventually rebuild ... we are a resilient people. Our history shows us that.”

Resident Brian Boll, a New York City Fire Department captain and a member of the East Rockaway Fire Department for 29 years, recalled the day of the attacks, when he was on duty at a New York City firehouse. “It was one of the worst days of my life,” Boll said. He asked the audience to remember that, although the death toll was high, there were an estimated 15,000 people in the World Trade Center that morning. “We should also remember that it was one of the greatest rescue efforts ... and that [the victims] did not lose their lives in vain,” he said. Boll now works with the Center for Terrorism and Disaster Preparedness and is a member of East Rockaway’s Liberty Hose Co. 2.

Deputy Mayor Richard Meagher thanked the organizations that made the village’s memorial possible, including the lighting, the flagpole, the etched black granite markers and the individual engraved stones. “Sometimes what we envision is not quite what is created,” Meagher said, “but as I look around at this site, the reality is more impressive and more beautiful than was originally envisioned.”