Explorer Post 710 marks Memorial Day by honoring 9/11 victims

Recalling the events of 9/11 to children who were unborn at the time of the terrorist attacks, memories resurfaced of her elders recalling to her the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

“We try to relate to the kids that history is a moving thing, and that it means something special to each one of us,” said Kathy Musgraves, advisor to the Franklin Square and Munson Explorer Post 710 of the Franklin Square and Munson Fire Department.

Musgraves and the post’s members visited the 9/11 memorial site at Rath Park on May 22, placing American flags at each of the 24 name markers that commemorate Nassau County residents who died on September 11, 2001.

Musgraves has served as the captain of Fire Police Company #1 at the Franklin Square and Munson Fire Department since 2014 and as an advisor to the Explorer Post 710 since 2015. The post, comprised of high school students between 14 and 18 years old, is a program part of the Franklin Square and Munson Fire Department. Operating under the Boy Scouts of America Learning for Life Program, the post’s mission is to engage not only in fire training but also in acts of community service.

“In addition to their fire training, we try to teach them how to be a good person,” Musgraves said.

Due to coronavirus restrictions, the post was unable to engage in community service activities for the past year.

The Fire Service Academy in Bethpage held training over Zoom for Post 710 members, and the post’s meetings continued, held once or twice per month over Zoom, Musgraves said. Although the lack of hands-on training delayed the learning of troop members, virtual learning allowed training to continue. “They couldn’t get hands-on experience, but at least they had some form of education going on,” Musgraves said.

The post’s return to community service on May 22 was special for Musgraves: it was about emphasizing the meaning of Memorial Day to the young members of Explorer Post 710.

“We're trying to teach them about respect and the meaning of Memorial Day,” Musgraves said. The post’s captain, at Musgraves request, distributed an article to members of the post that taught them about the history of Memorial Day.

Many of the post’s younger members did not grasp the brevity of the 9/11 attacks. The visit to the 9/11 memorial site also served to teach the post’s members about the significance of 9/11. We had to kind of explain what 9/11 meant to us to the kids, because they weren’t even born yet” (at the time of the attacks).

“We want to give them an understanding of history and what it means to be respectful,” Musgraves said. “They came to understand why we salute them,” she added, referring to those who died on 9/11.