Bush breaks ground President visits East Meadow for solemn memorial, fundraiser

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      When Kloepfer most recently met Bush, at the official groundbreaking for the Nassau County Sept. 11 Memorial in Eisenhower Park last Thursday, the Baldwin resident handed him another picture of her son, but she didn't have to. The image was already burned in his memory.
      "He said, 'Oh my God, I remember that face,'" a visibly moved Kloepfer said. "He remembered Ronny's picture."
      Bush's presence at the groundbreaking, part of a day-long visit that culminated with a fund-raiser at nearby Carltun on the Park, was an overwhelmingly emotional experience for Kloepfer and the dozens of other families of victims who were on hand.
      The fact that the president heaved one of the first shovels of dirt on what is to become a lasting tribute to their loved ones meant a lot. Especially to Kloepfer, whose son's body was never found.
      "We really have no place to say a prayer or to put a flower down," she said. "I find myself driving into ground zero and just standing there and looking, saying my prayers just to be a little closer."
      The brief ceremony ended almost as quickly as it began. Save a short invocation, there were no speeches.
      Under air-tight security and the watchful eye of the Secret Service, Bush, Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, Gov. George Pataki and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani entered amid a lengthy color guard and bagpipers blowing patriotic tunes.
      After the groundbreaking, they headed into the crowd that lined the sloped grass by Salisbury Lake, where the memorial will stand. There Bush offered words of comfort to the families, scooped children into his arms and posed for photographs.
      "I think he articulated very well to the people here and showed his sincerity about wanting to be here and with the children, especially," said Robert Eslick, of Old Bethpage, who lost his best friend, Adam Ruhalter, a Cantor Fitzgerald employee, on Sept. 11.
      East Meadow resident Jim Richards, present at the groundbreaking, had, like Kloepfer, met Bush in New York City days after his brother was killed in the attacks. "He's just a wonderful man, and brings a lot of warmth to all the people whom he speaks with," Richards said. "You really feel that he's not just speaking at you, he's speaking with you."
      Construction is set to begin on the Nassau County Sept. 11 Memorial in a few weeks, said Ian Siegel, president of the Nassau County 9/11 Memorial Committee.
      Funded exclusively by donations, the $750,000 memorial will include two semi-transparent aluminum towers rising 30 feet above a reflecting pool, a wall with the names of the 281 Nassau County victims and two pieces of wreckage from the World Trade Center.
      The memorial was designed by architects Keith Striga, of Valley Stream, and Phil Gavosto, of Glen Cove, and should be finished by Sept. 11.
      While most of the money for the memorial is already in place, the county is still planning fund-raisers, said Siegel. "We're getting close to our mark," he said, declining to elaborate. "I'd prefer not to put the numbers out there."
      
From solemnity to stumping

      The president's attendance at the memorial groundbreaking was only a brief addition to the original purpose of his visit to Long Island -- to raise money for his upcoming bid for re-election.
      After touching down at Republic Airport in Farmingdale, taking a tour of USA Industries in Bay Shore and attending the groundbreaking, the president turned out for a $2,000-a-head gala at Eisenhower Park's ritzy Carltun.
      Hundreds of Republican big spenders packed the hall, where Bush laid out his platform and took potshots at his presumptive Democratic opponent, Sen. John Kerry. Though he touched on improving the economy, tax relief and fighting corporate corruption, Bush's words mostly focused on national security and the war on terror. They're issues the president figures to play up in the months leading to the November election.
      "The last three years have brought serious challenges and we've given serious answers," Bush said. "We captured or killed many of the key leaders of the Al Qaeda network. And the rest of them will learn, there is no cave or hole deep enough to hide from the justice of the United States."
      Bush also defended the invasion of Iraq, despite the apparent absence of weapons of mass destruction, saying that the U.S. acted on intelligence reports indicating that a threat existed. "I had a choice to make," he said. "Either take the word of a madman, or take action to defend America."
      Bush criticized Kerry for flip-flopping on issues. "He's been in Washington long enough to take both sides of every issue," the president said. "Senator Kerry voted for the Patriot Act, voted for NAFTA, voted for the No Child Left Behind Act and the use of force in Iraq.
      "Now he's opposed to the Patriot Act, NAFTA, the No Child Left Behind Act and the liberation of Iraq. He clearly has strong beliefs. They just don't last very long."