Rockville Centre remembers neighbors who perished on 9/11 at annual ceremony

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More than 100 people paid tribute to the village residents and loved ones of locals that perished on Sept. 11, 2001 at Rockville Centre’s annual 9/11 ceremony on the Village Green last Sunday.

“There are those times that we probably wish we didn’t remember,” Mayor Francis X. Murray said of the attacks. “And yet, we know that we cannot ignore this or somehow put it away on the shelf. We lost too much on 9/11 simply to let it go and move on.”

Members of the Rockville Centre police and fire departments stood at attention next to the village’s 9/11 memorial throughout the 40-minute ceremony. Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts recited the Pledge of Allegiance and singers from South Side High School graced the crowd with the national anthem and closed with America the Beautiful. Frank Colon, commander of American Legion Post 303, played taps.

Names of the 49 community members who died that day were read aloud, including five members of the New York City Fire Department and two members of the City of New York Police Department.

Terence S. Hatton, a captain for FDNY’s Rescue Company 1, died responding to the attacks that morning. His nephew, Conor Antoniou, 21, attended Rockville Centre’s ceremony and said he was pleased with the turnout. “It’s really amazing to see all these people here every year to come out and remember,” he said. “Truly, nobody is forgotten.”

Though a young child when Hatton died, Antoniou, who grew up in Rockville Centre, said he has fond memories of his uncle, and continues to learn more about his life. “It’s just little bits and pieces you can gather over the years that add up to a really beautiful picture.”

William Croutier Jr. has arranged the remembrance ceremony over the last 17 years, Murray noted. He helped establish Rockville Centre’s We Care Committee, which has raised more than $1 million for families of 9/11 victims, and was instrumental in getting the 9/11 memorial built on the Village Green in 2012, with help from the late Anthony Brunetta, the village’s longtime recreation superintendent, and former Mayor Eugene Murray.

“Mr. Brunetta and I had promised the families that we would never forget,” Croutier said. “You want to make sure that the younger ones coming up now … understand how devastating it was.”

Murray said that though the village was forever changed by 9/11, the community’s response has been inspiring. “We will never fully recover, but I hope and pray that time has changed the anger and pain in our hearts to a feeling of peace,” he said. …The eternal light of remembrance will never go dark in Rockville Centre.”