**PRESS START SLIDESHOW ABOVE THIS IMAGE TO VIEW ALL THE PHOTOS** Leading the Presentation of Colors, George Schuchman a Navy Veteran from Post 854 guides fellow veterans and boy and girl scouts around the memorial to start the ceremony.
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Master of Ceremonies, Jude Robert Bogle, addressed the gathered crowd of residents, fire fighters, veterans, boy scouts, girl scouts and local politicians who gathered for this years September 11 remembrance ceremony.
Christina Daly/Herald
Leading the Presentation of Colors, George Schuchman a Navy Veteran from Post 854 guides fellow veterans and boy and girl scouts around the memorial to start the ceremony.
Christina Daly/Herald
Boy scouts carry the flags past saluting fire department members.
Christina Daly/Herald
An invocation was given by Vito Benenati of the Bahai Center of Nassau County.
Christina Daly/Herald
The National Anthem was beautifully sung by Central High School senior Kristen Smith.
Christina Daly/Herald
Lieutenant Bill Martin with the Valley Stream Auxiliary Police watched the ceremony.
Christina Daly/Herald
Joining the American Legion, VFW, Girl Scouts and other Boy Scouts, 10 year old Logan Thomson carried the American flag during the presentation of colors and took up his spot as the groups surrounded the memorial at Hendrickson Park.
Christina Daly/Herald
American Legion and Veteran of Foreign War members participated in the ceremony.
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Mayor Ed Fare welcomed residents and spoke about the horros of that fateful day in 2001. “As an educator in the Valley Stream Central High School district, last week I faced my incoming eighth-grade classes and realized that these students had yet to be born on Sept. 11, 2001. To them, what took place on 9/11 is history that is almost two decades old. In our schools and in our homes, it is our job to remind, inform and educate them and all future generations of the significance and impact of those events.”
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Hundreds of residents gathered for the annual ceremony at Hendrickson Park. Six years ago, the village added a memorial site dedicated to the attacks, with a steel beam from the destroyed World Trade Center positioned on two cement columns that point toward 1 World Trade. In 2015, the village acquired two "Survivor Tree" saplings that grew out of the charred trunk of a Callery pear tree that was uncovered under the rubble of the twin towers.
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Placing one of three memorial wreaths, Trustees Sean Wright and John Tufarelli joined Junior Firefighters and members of the Boy and Girl Scouts who also placed wreaths around the steel beam.
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During a Benediction by Rev. Steven Milazzo, the pastor of Bethlehem Assembly of God, Staff Seargent Christopher Barber bowed his head in prayer. Barber is also a member of the Valley Stream Auxiliary Police.
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A musical interlude, the song His Eye Is On The Sparrow, was performed beautifully by Min. Philip Jones of the Valley Stream Presbyterian Church.
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Brian Howley, center, along with the rest of the fire department, saluted during the playing of taps.
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Concluding the ceremony, Taps was played by Vice Commander Victor La Torre, with American Legion Post 854.
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After the conclusion of the ceremony, attendees placed flowers on and around the steel beam from the World Trade Center, which has been in Valley Stream since 2011. Jessica Dyer, 9, from Girl Scout troop 2051 placed her carnation on the beam.
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The steel beam from the World Trade Center has been in Valley Stream since 2011. Each year wreaths and flowers are placed on and around the beam during the ceremony at Hendrickson Park.
Christina Daly/Herald
The steel beam from the World Trade Center has been in Valley Stream since 2011. Each year wreaths and flowers are placed on and around the beam during the ceremony at Hendrickson Park.
Christina Daly/Herald