At 2:49 p.m. on April 15, two pressure-cooker bombs loaded with ball bearings and nails detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, on Boylston Street, shrouding two blocks of multistory brick buildings in white smoke and sending shrapnel hurtling in all directions. Three people were killed and 264 injured in the terrorist attack. Merokean Kara Iskenderian, 20, who is now a junior at Tufts University in Medford, Mass., and a member of the school’s marathon team, was a third of a mile –– or less than three minutes –– away from finishing the race when the crudely constructed, homemade bombs exploded. more

On the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Bellmore Fire Department volunteers reminded the community that they would never forget the fallen at their annual memorial service. more

Merrick firefighters and community members gathered at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at the memorial on the northwest corner of Merrick Avenue and Sunrise Highway for a ceremony commemorating the lives of 9/11’s victims. more

Hundreds gathered in Veterans Memorial Park on Wednesday night to pay tribute to the thousands who died in the Sept. 11 attacks 12 years ago. The candlelight vigil was hosted by the East Meadow Fire Department. more

On Wednesday, Sept. 11, the Merrick Fire Department will hold a brief ceremony to honor the lives of two of its members, Ex-Chief Ronnie Gies and Ex-Capt. Brian Sweeney, who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, as well as those of all other 9/11 victims. The observance will take place at 7 p.m. at the firefighters’ memorial on Merrick Avenue between Sunrise Highway and the Merrick Long Island Rail Road station. more

Valley Stream’s Sept. 11 memorial is full of symbolism, from the Pentagon base, to the piece of steel recovered from the World Trade Center. But many people do not know about all the components of the design, and the Valley Stream Junior Fire Department is working to change that. more

The American flag exists at the periphery of most our lives. It takes on significance mainly at events kicked off by the playing of the national anthem, at parades and during the seventh-inning stretch at Yankees games. more

I awoke at 3:45 a.m. on Sept. 30, and by 4:35 I was on a train speeding from Merrick to Penn Station. At 6 a.m., I stood at Liberty and West streets in Lower Manhattan, near 1 World Trade Center. more

Glen James Wall, was a partner and vice president at Cantor Fitzgerald, and working on the 105th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center when the planes hit. This heartfelt essay was … more

W. T. Clarke middle schoolers marked Sept. 11 with reflections on hopes and dreams for the future. more