By:Andrew Hackmack with Jonann Brady
Though not all of those honored worked at Ground Zero on Sept. 11 or in the days following, they were reminded that their responses were crucial to the communities they serve.
"We will never forgot your efforts," Town of Hempstead Supervisor Richard Guardino told firefighters. "Each one of you contributed to that rescue and recovery effort in some special way. There were no small jobs there."
In total, 64 firefighters from the Town of Hempstead were presented with a service medal and a certificate of recognition for their work. Baldwin recipients were Ralph Rose, Scott Zinn, Robert Ellison, Sr., and Robert Ellison, Jr.
The Baldwin firefighters honored were released from their Town duties to standby at their local firehouses. Though none of them went into the city on Sept. 11, the day was tense nonetheless.
"A bunch of our guys are city firemen and we were waiting to hear about the guys who went in," said Scott Zinn, 29, who has volunteered with the Baldwin Fire Department for a decade. Eleven firefighters from Baldwin went to Ground Zero on Sept. 11.
Ralph Rose, who has worked for the Sanitation Department for 32 years and volunteered with the fire department for 18 years, said that those who stayed behind did an important service as well.
"We didn't want to take every piece of apparatus out of town," he said. "You have to protect the town, too."
The ceremony, which was held at the Old Town Hall Courtroom in Hempstead, began with an invocation from Father Kevin Smith, the Nassau County Fire Chaplain. After the pledge of allegiance, many of the firefighters joined in singing "The Star Spangled Banner." After the awards were presented and the firefighters received a standing ovation, Rabbi Ronald Androphy of the East Meadow Jewish Center presided over the benediction and praised the men and women for their efforts.
A video presentation during the ceremony took the volunteers back to Sept. 11. To the tune of "The House I Live In" by Neil Diamond and Frank Sinatra, scenes from Ground Zero were shown.
Nine months later, emotions still ran high. Robert Ellison, Sr., an ex-captain of the Baldwin Fire Department and 36 year veteran who stood by on Dept. 11, said he had been to at least half a dozen memorial services for fallen firefighter friends.
His son, Robert, Jr., was at work with the Sanitation Department in Oceanside and saw Tower One on fire from a hilltop there. His radio began crackling with voices and wouldn't stop. A lieutenant with the Baldwin Fire Department, Ellison stayed in town on stand-by.
For him, last week's ceremony was bittersweet.
"I lost three of my friends in the city," he said. "It hits close to home. I wish I could have done more."
