For some, village’s 9/11 ceremony is lacking

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On the anniversary of the attacks that took the life of his son and 2,976 others, Valley Stream resident Ed Thompson chooses not to attend the village’s remembrance ceremony, and his reason has been a point of contention for some through the years.

“The crux of the whole thing is, if you can’t announce the [local victims’] names, don’t announce the names of the people in the audience — the politicians,” Thompson said.

His son, Glenn, a 44-year-old trader at Cantor Fitzgerald, died in the North Tower on Sept. 11, 2001. Thompson — and Glenn’s two siblings, Thompson points out — feel that Glenn’s name should be read at the annual ceremony along with other residents and natives of Valley Stream who died that day. He said he resents that the names of dignitaries in attendance are announced, but the victims’ names are not.

Thompson said that he tried to contact Mayor Ed Fare about the issue several times this year but received no response. Fare said that he discussed the village’s reasoning with Thompson in past years, but said the explanation always failed to satisfy him.

“That memorial and monument is honoring everyone on Flight 93, everyone at the Pentagon, everyone in the towers and everyone who is still suffering,” Fare said. “There are first responders still dying [from medical issues related to the scene].”

He said that the ceremony’s lack of victims’ names was meant to be inclusive, not exclusive. “We struggled with that,” he said, explaining that a wide range of residents lost their lives in the attacks, with some having been born there or graduated from high school there but had moved away. He added that he has heard compliments from attendees through the years about the mentioning of first responders, military personnel and survivors who have continued to suffer as a result of the attacks. He said that he debates the issue every year with Valley Stream resident Bob Blakeman, who lost his grandson, Tommy Jurgens, in the attacks.

“I think we’re taking the high road,” Fare said. “I think we’re doing the right thing.”

Thompson remains unsatisfied. While his children attend the ceremony in Manhattan, he chooses to go to the service at Holy Name of Mary Church, where the names of six victims who were church members are read.