By Hector Flores
This past Sunday, Congello, a Mepham High School senior and Eagle Scout candidate, unveiled a Sept. 11 monument dedicated to the 20 Bellmore and Wantagh residents who lost their lives in the attacks.
More than 100 local residents, including many members of the Bellmore and Wantagh fire departments, attended the unveiling ceremony. During the presentation, Congello spoke about how the bravery of the men and women who died Sept. 11 moved him to erect the monument. He decided to use the project to fulfill his Eagle Scout requirement of 40 hours of community service. Part of the requirement is that the project must benefit the community as a whole.
"Although we can never forget what happened that day," Congello said, "I hope that, with this monument, we can remember those brave men who died that day."
Congello needed a month to develop the project's concept -- a stone carving of the New York skyline, including the Twin Towers, and the 20 names of Bellmore and Wantagh victims inscribed underneath.
The monument also includes a passage that Congello said is a fitting description of the people who died that day: "Now and then, in the course of our everyday lives, we are faced with a situation where we can choose to put another person's needs before our own. And every now and then, that unselfish decision on behalf of a neighbor, a co-worker or even a stranger can change another person's destiny and, at the same time, our own. In that moment ... real people become real heroes."
Congello needed 18 months to raise $8,000 to have the monument made. He also received donations from local organizations such as the Bellmore Little League, the Central Bellmore Home Owners Association, the Chamber of Commerce of the Bellmores, Mepham High School, Boy Scout Troop 285, and the Bellmore and Wantagh fire departments.
During the unveiling, Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg (D-Merrick) said, "This week I was at Mepham speaking to the students. As I walked out, I told the reporters who have been parked outside the school for the last month, 'If you really want to see what Bellmore is all about, come to this presentation.'"
Bellmore Fire Department Chief Peter Schmalenberger said, "I think that it was a great idea to erect a monument remembering our local heroes. [Mill Pond] is a nice place for people to come and reflect."
No one, however, was more moved than Christina Aceto and her mother, Christy. "My husband worked for Marsh & McLennan on the 98th floor of World Trade Center 1," Christy said. "I thank Vincent for this memorial. My daughter Christina learned how to walk here when she was younger, and of all the spots that could have been planned, this is a wonderful place for this memorial."
Christina thanked Congello and his Boy Scout troop for giving her a place to come and remember her father. "I remember walking with my dad here," she said. "I remember my father. He was like a brother I never had, and I always think, How could this have happened? How could two planes do this? But thanks to Vincent, every time I'll come here, I will say, 'I love you, Daddy, and I will never forget you.'"
