By Andrew Hackmack
This year, on the sixth anniversary of the attacks, there was no blue sky to be found. At A.J. Hendrickson Park in Valley Stream, close to 100 people huddled under umbrellas for a short ceremony to mark the day. The light but steady rain was no deterrent for the friends and family members of Sept. 11 victims.
Mayor Ed Cahill said the official count of Valley Stream residents who were killed in the attacks was 12. While that is a significant number, he said, other communities suffered heavier losses. "It was devastating all over," he said.
Cahill said that six years later, there are still reminders of that haunting day. He cited the two firefighters who were recently killed battling a blaze in the Deutsche Bank building near ground zero. The structure was damaged beyond repair when the World Trade Center towers collapsed, and is in the process of being dismantled.
Jim Darcy, a former mayor of Valley Stream, talked about how Sept. 11 will be remembered in the future. He said that while he was writing his speech for the ceremony, his 3-year-old granddaughter asked him what Sept. 11 was. He didn't know what to tell her.
"How could I explain 9/11 to a 3-year-old?" Darcy said. He breathed a sigh of relief, he went on, when his granddaughter quickly became occupied with a new toy, but it got him thinking about how stories of the day will be told to future generations.
Will they be about the terror everyone felt that day? Or perhaps the sorrow felt by victims' loved ones? "In truth," Darcy said, "we should focus on the remarkable transformation that came across our nation that day." That transformation, he explained, was when people set aside their differences to help those in need.
Debbie Palmer, wife of FDNY Battalion Chief Orio Palmer, who died on Sept. 11, attended the ceremony to honor her late husband. She said she appreciates the village's effort to host the memorial service each year. "It's so nice to see how many people from the community come," she said.
Palmer explained that it is special to her that the ceremony is held at Hendrickson Park, where her husband used to run around the lake, training for various marathons. "We taught our kids to ride bikes around here," she said. "We spent a lot of time here as a family."
Robert Blakeman, whose grandson perished in the attacks, also commended the village for continuing to hold the ceremony each year. He said it is important never to forget those who lost their lives on 9/11. "It's well done and in extremely good taste," Blakeman said. "People have to be aware that these sacrifices made our country what it is."
Blakeman is a veteran of World War II, having served in the Merchant Marines.
Cahill reminded everyone to keep in mind those who are fighting overseas for freedom and democracy. Turning to the home front, he thanked police officers and firefighters for their efforts in protecting the community.
Cahill vowed that as long as he is mayor, the village will pay tribute to the Sept. 11 victims every year. "It feels so recent that our world was shaken to the core," he said. "I believe it is difficult not to remember. We must remember."
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