By Dana Williams
More than 200 people stood in the park with candles in hand and expressions of reverence. Last Tuesday marked the sixth year that the village of Malverne has held a memorial in remembrance of residents Scott Bart, Jacqueline Donovan, James Haran and Diane Urban.
Deputy Mayor James J. Callahan said he was "glad to see so many people attend the memorial" because after six years, he "worried that residents might have started to forget about what happened" that September morning. "I'm glad to see tonight that even with the rain of today, so many of our neighbors have come out to support the people of this village, and to support our country," Callahan said.
Mayor Patricia McDonald shared similar sentiments in her remarks at the ceremony, noting that more people attend the memorial each year. The collective effort, McDonald said, shows the community's commitment to honoring those who lost their lives. "As you see here this evening, everyone has gathered here today, six years later ... to let you all know how much we as a community remember and love your loved ones," McDonald said to the families of the four Malverne victims.
The mayor also spoke about how people recollect what they were doing when they learned that hijacked planes had crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania. "The unspeakable events that happened, catapulted us into a new age - an age of terror," McDonald said. "Sitting in my home watching the news coverage, hope and promise turned into terror and fear."
The actions of the terrorists, however, are not what village officials and residents said they try to remember each year. The memorial, which took place beside the Malverne Long Island Rail Road station on Church Street, honors the memory of the police officers, firefighters and office workers who died in the attacks. "Four members of our Malverne community and family went off to work that beautiful September morning with dreams and aspirations for the future," McDonald added. "We gather as a community to remember Scott Bart, Jacqueline Donovan, James Haran and Diane Urban."
Representatives from the New York City police and fire departments dedicated a wreath to the victims, and escorted their families to the village's Sept. 11 memorial in the park's gazebo. There, the family members laid roses on the memorial plaque that bears the victims' names, after taking a moment to bow their heads. The ceremony concluded with a prayer and the singing of "God Bless America."
Many residents said they attended the memorial to make sure the victims are never forgotten. "We shouldn't forget events like Sept. 11 because they are important and the victims deserve to be remembered," said resident Tom Nasta. "Events like Sept. 11 and Pearl Harbor are very emotional, but I remember them as if they happened yesterday, and a service like this one is good because it gives us a chance to remember."
"I came here tonight to remember my fellow community members who died in the attacks," added resident Alan Gould. "They died tragically, and I come here every year with the rest of the Malverne community to honor their memory."
Nearby, in Hall's Pond Park in West Hempstead, members of the West Hempstead Kiwanis Club held an informal ceremony in front of the park's Sept. 11 memorial. Amid occasional raindrops left over from an afternoon downpour, a group of residents dedicated a wreath and lit candles in remembrance of the 12 village residents who were killed. Nassau County Legislator Vincent Muscarella read the victims' names aloud, and this ceremony, too, concluded with "God Bless America."
Although six years have passed, residents said, people should still commemorate the day. "A lot of people had family and friends who died during the attacks, and I had a cousin who died in the World Trade Center," said Harry Baldino, a lifelong West Hempstead resident. "Sept. 11 is something that we should always remember. Life passes us real fast, but coming to this memorial gives us a chance to take a few minutes to remember."
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