Oceanside remembers

There was a strong sense of community as hundreds of Oceanside residents walked from the First Presbyterian Church on Oceanside Road to the School House Green to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Some talked quietly with neighbors as they walked, while others simply held hands with their spouses. Children, many of whom were not alive at the time of the attacks, ran around the gazebo excitedly. In every direction were American flags, including a large one displayed between the extended ladders of two Oceanside Fire Department trucks.

As the Oceanside firefighters looked on in full dress uniforms, the Rev. Danielle Miller of the Oceanside Interfaith Council began the ceremony with a prayer of invocation, asking God to grant peace to those who were killed that day, before inviting the Oceanside Marching Band to play “Anchors Aweigh.”

Former OFD Chief Edward Scharfberg, who at the time of the attacks was also a police detective assigned to the New York Police Department’s arson/explosion squad, told the crowd the story of his experience at ground zero — a tale of disbelief and loss, but also of astonishment at the dedication of concerned family and friends.

“In the days to follow, we spent many hours in the pile and in the pits,” Scharfberg said. “I was in awe by the inspiration of these families to go back the next day and look again [for survivors]. By the people in the streets who cheered us on every time we went down to the site.”

After a performance of “American Tears” by the Boardman Elementary School chorus, there was a moment of silence, during which the only sound was of planes flying overhead, hidden by the clouds.

Rabbi Mark Greenspan, the OFD chaplain, and the Rev. Randall Broger read the names of the victims of the attacks who had a connection to Ocean- side. One man, who identified himself only as Jim, spoke about how his nephew had died at the World Trade Center. “I feel a little upset about this whole situation, that somebody that young could die and leave a wife and two small children,” he said.

The ceremony ended with a Litany of Remembrance and Hope led by Rabbi Uri Goren and a benediction by the Rev. Hikari Kokai Chang. “We will not forget those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001,” Chang said. “But more importantly, we will not forget how they lived while they were with us; how they shared their laughs with us, how they shared their tears with us, and how they shared their hopes and dreams with us.”