By JOSEPH KELLARD
Beckwith, however, declined to speak about the incident that made him a nationally known figure. His face was splashed across the medi including the cover of Time magazine after he unexpectedly stood beside President Bush when Bush visited ground zero and blared through a bullhorn to Beckwith's fellow search-and-rescue workers: "I can hear you, the rest of the world hears you, and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon."
Beckwith, 73, focused his talk on the families he's met whose loved ones were killed on 9/11, calling these encounters ³heart-wrenching.² A first-grade firefighter for 23 years with Ladder Co. No 117 in Astoria, Queens, and for seven years with Ladder Co. No. 164 in Douglaston, Beckwith stressed that the terrorist atrocities should never fade from memory.
"Someday we won't be here," Beckwith said before a crowd of over 150. "So we have to teach our children and grandchildren that they shouldn't forget, too. Nine-11 should not just be a number."
Each Sept. 11, the Oceanside Interfaith Council (OIC), an organization comprising a range of houses of worship, has gathered at Schoolhouse Green to memorialize those who died as well as those who tried to save them. On each occasion, a tree is planted on the green, representing the "living" part of the service.
On Sunday, the OIC planted two trees, a maple and a pear. ³One tree is for those who worked so hard on 9/11; the other for all those who were lost that day,² said Rabbi Mark Greenspan of the Oceanside Jewish Center, past president of the OIC. "The original idea behind our memorial is that we wanted to provide living memorials rather than monuments."
Under a peaceful, sunny sky reminiscent of 9/11, Greenspan led a prayer describing how people gather on Sept. 11 to reflect and seek solace and understanding from one another, the latter being the OIC's fundamental goal. "Our world is torn by senseless violence," said Greenspan, backed by the color guard of the Oceanside Fire Department. "We grieve the loss of life and the hatred that continues to evade our existence. Let us not cower in the face of evil...May we respond with strength, but may we also pursue peace with the people who share our desire for a world healed of pain."
The Rev. Janet Porcher of the United Methodist Church, chairwoman of OIF, noted that in addition to remembering the heroics of firefighters, police and emergency medical workers on 9/11, we also honor the courage of everyone from stockbrokers to window washers who worked together that day to help one another, and the millions of Americans "who gave so generously of their life and labor to endow funds to help the survivors and their families recover from their losses." She said, "We can say together we are grateful for their generosity."
Just as the names of all those killed at the World Trade Center site four years ago were read there earlier on Sunday, Greenspan read the names of some of the victims who either lived in Oceanside or had relatives who do. They included Janice Ashley, 25, of Rockville Centre, a research associate at Fred Alger Management; James Barbella, 53, of Oceanside, a property manager for the Port Authority; Jason Cayne, 32, of Morganville, N.J., and James Kelly, 39, of Oceanside, both bond brokers for Cantor Fitzgerald; Thomas Gardner, 39, of Oceanside, an FDNY firefighter with Company No. 1; John Florio, 33, of Oceanside, an FDNY firefighters with Engine Company 214; Arthur Joseph Jones III, 37, of Ossining, N.Y., an employee of Carr Futures; and Joseph Amatuccio, 41, of Manhattan, a general property manager for the Port Authority.
Families and friends of these victims joined together around the two newly planted trees in a moment of silence. Among those present were JoAnn Barbella, the daughter of James. "I was surprised at how many people came down today, and it's beautiful here," she said following the memorial. "I'm glad that there is a place to go in Oceanside to remember."
Risa Lewak, who befriended Ashley when they attended Oceanside High School together, characterized Beckwith¹s speech as "respectful." Remembering her fallen friend, with whom she graduated from OHS in 1994, Lewak said, "I'll always remember Janice as a wonderful person and wonderful artist. One of the things that made her so wonderful was that she was a great listener."
With the Stars and Stripes at half staff on the Schoolhouse Green flagpole, the crowd joined Shannon Dass, 12, of Lynbrook, in singing "God Bless America" to close the ceremony. Also singing along were other members of the VFW and Jewish War Veterans.
Greenspan, who, after 9/11, was inspired to join the OFD's Columbia Engine Co. No. 1 as a volunteer firefighter, also asked the attendees to remember America's military men and women overseas "who are putting their lives at risk and fighting for the ideals of our country," and to provide for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Leading another prayer, Greenspan said, "Bless the peoples and leaders of this nation and all nations so that warfare, like slavery before it, may become only an historic memory."
Greenspan invited Beckwith to speak at the memorial after he met him at a wedding last year. "It's sort of ironic that he's right here living in our area and he hasn't really had much recognition here," Greenspan said.
Following the memorial, Beckwith again showed that he was unconcerned about receiving any recognition for his chance encounter with President Bush.
³I want this place to become a forest," he said. "The terrorists hit us in our backyard. I'm not buying it, and I'll never forgive them for that. And I don't want people to ever forget that."
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
