Valley Stream monument honors every victim

Local Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts placed wreathes in front of the monument, which incorporates a piece of steel from the World Trade Center.

Andrew Hackmack/Herald

Family Members of the victims placed flowers beside the monument.

Andrew Hackmack/Herald

A Fire Department ladder lifts the covering off of the new monument, which was unveiled to the public at Tuesday morning’s ceremony.

Andrew Hackmack/Herald

The new Sept. 11 monument at Hendrickson Park in Valley Stream was unveiled for the 11th anniversary of the attacks.

Andrew Hackmack/Herald

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See more photos of the ceremony and of the new monument here.

Under sunny skies and with more than 400 people watching, Mayor Ed Fare gave the order. A fire truck’s engine started up, and Valley Stream Auxiliary Police began untying pieces of rope that held two flaps of a black cloth together.

The truck’s ladder rose, lifting the cloth with it. There was applause. For most of the people there, this was the first look at Valley Stream’s new Sept. 11 monument, which includes a piece of steel from the remnants of the World Trade Center. The steel is mounted on two square pillars designed to mimic the twin towers, and rises from five and a half feet to nine feet off the ground. It points toward 1 World Trade Center, the new life at ground zero.

Fare explained that the monument is a tribute to every victim of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. There is a pentagon base in honor of the attack on Washington, D.C., and the number 93 for the downed flight in Pennsylvania.

“It is important for us as a community to take the time, to have a place to remember, mourn and heal,” Fare said. “This new monument here in our memorial garden is just such a place.”

The village secured the piece of steel last August, and it was on display at Hendrickson Park for the 10th anniversary ceremony last year, brought in on a flatbed truck. Earlier this summer, work began on the permanent memorial, which was completed in time for the 11th anniversary.

“This monument stands as a symbol for generations to come,” Fare said, “of our country’s determination and our ability to move forward and thrive in the face of adversity.”

Village Justice Robert Bogle, the master of ceremonies on Tuesday morning, said it is important to remember the many Americans who rushed to the aid of others that day. They were family members, friends, neighbors, soccer and Little League coaches, he said.

“They gave America the last full measure of devotion, in the city of New York, in Washington, D.C., and in an obscure planting field in western Pennsylvania,” Bogle added. “They proved to all of us, through their actions, that courage, love and sacrifice will always prevail over cowardice, hate and ignorance.”