Though the sun was shining bright, it was a somber occasion as residents, first responders, local politicians and veterans gathered to attend the annual Cedarhurst Remembers 9/11 Ceremony.
Held at Andrew J. Parise Park, the ceremony remembers those that lost their lives 24 years ago, in the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001.
Seven residents of the Five Towns and connected communities lost their lives that day: Thomas Jurgens, 27; Neil Levin, 47; Bettina Browne-Radburn, 49; Joseph Rivelli Jr., 43; Kevin O’Rourke, 44; Howard Selwyn, 47 and Ira Zaslow, 55.
The program began with the presentation of the colors by the LCFD and Lawrence-Cedarhurst American Legion Post 339, led by Commander Marianela Lizana Plaza.
“Today is 24 years it’s hard to believe it,” said Rabbi Mordechai Yaffee of Mesivta Ateres Yaakov. “I heard that the number of New York fire department members will subsequently pass away due to illnesses related to that horrible day exceeds the number of firefighters that lost their lives that day.”
He said that everybody who was alive knows exactly where they were when the events of 9/11 happened and it is a generational event that will be remembered forever.
“It created an inherent change to the way in which we live our lives,” Rabbi Yaffe said. “Even those who weren’t alive don’t realize the extent to how bad the affects of those days are on them every single day.”
The Village of Cedarhurst organized the ceremony. It featured performances by the Lawrence High School string ensemble and vocal ensemble.
“For us it’s personal,” Mayor Benjamin Weinstock said. “We remember and pay tribute to our community and those who are listed on our 9/11 monument.”
Trustees from the village read aloud the granite markers that have the time in which the attack happened and where it occurred.
“The time has come for us to take our country back,” Weinstock added. “This is a time to believe in American exceptionalism and the values that made our country the greatest country in the history of the world. Where patriotism is the norm and not the exception, I believe we’re on the right track, finally.”
County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s nephew, Thomas Jurgens, was one of the lives lost that day. Jurgens was a volunteer in the Meadowmere Fire Department and a NYS Court Officer.
“It’s just as meaningful today as it was on the first anniversary of 9/11,” Blakeman said. “My nephew got in a jury van with 12 other court officers and raced over to tower two and was administering first-aid to a woman who was severely burned when the tower fell on him. I think about him each and every day.”
Blakeman emphasized that “we must never forget what happened on 9/11.”
“If we forget, history will continue to repeat itself,” Blakeman said. “We must continue to stand strong, be vigilant and show up every year to show our respect for those who died that day.”
The ceremony concluded with taps and the retiring of the colors, along with a rendition of “You Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban from the LHS vocal ensemble.
“Today we remember all those who lost their loves and that disastrous event on Sept. 11, 2001,” Deacon Tom Costello of the R.C Parishes of the Five Towns. “Family, friends and neighbors we give thanks to you for the noble courage for those brave people who ran into a burning building by laying down their lives for others.”
