The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Personnel lauded for efforts on ‘day world changed’
EAST HAMPTON — Young or old, man or woman, uniformed service or civilian, they stood together as one: residents of East Hampton remembering a catastrophe and honoring the sacrifice of those who put service before self.
The evening service, organized by resident Ann McLaughlin, paid tribute to the more than 400 first responders and/or law enforcement officers who perished during the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, 17 years ago.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and in the hijacking of United Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, Pa., as passengers fought to regain control of the plane to keep it from being used for an attack in Washington.
In the wake of the destruction of the Twin Towers, a dozen East Hampton firefighters traveled to New York to offer their services to the wounded city and to the FDNY which lost 343 firefighters in the attack, Town Manager Michael Maniscalco said
First responders from the East Hampton police and fire departments and ambulance association gathered on the lawn of the First Congregational Church in the Village Center along with Boy Scouts from Pack 57 and Troop 57, members of the VFW Post 5095 color guard, and members of the Patriotic Guard Riders to mark the event.
The west side of the lawn was given over to a field of more than 400 American flags, representing the first responders who died at the three attack sites. By extension, the ceremony also paid tribute to the ongoing service of East Hampton first responders.
McLaughlin has served as
an unofficial veteran’s affairs leader in town. She organized the Yellow Ribbon tributes to troops being deployed to and returning from overseas.
In remarks to the audience of between 170 and 180 people, McLaughlin thanked a number of individuals and organizations for their help in staging the ceremony.
Maniscalco said McLaughlin forgot to include one more name in her thanks. “Ann comes up with these amazing ideas, and then she forgets about herself.”
He then turned his attention to the field of flags, each one representing “a person who should be here today, but isn’t.”
Their loss — and the number of people who died helping others — “speaks volumes.”
State Sen. Melissa Ziobron, R-East Haddam, called the audience’s attention to “The Red Bandana,” a 13minute video about Welles Crowther, an equity trader who worked on the 104th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center who died but only after leading
more than a dozen people to safety that day.
Ziobron said she learned of the video from former town councilor John Tuttle.
Speaking of first responders, Ziobron said she was inspired by their courage and “so grateful to all of the first responders, both here in East Hampton and all across the nation.”
Town Council Chairwoman Melissa H. Engel read a council proclamation recognizing and thanking the town’s first responders who “do not hesitate to risk their own safety” as they “preserve and protect us 365 days a year.”
Commending them for “dedication, commitment and service,” Engel said, “God bless you all.”
Engel presented individual copies of the proclamation to Police Chief Dennis Woessner, Fire Chief Martin Swan and Tom Donnelly, representing the Ambulance Association.
Describing it as a day on which “the world changed,” Maniscalco made a plea to the audience to not forget the people who were lost on 9/11.
“They were office professionals, janitorial staff, police officers, firefighters and EMS technicians, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, grandmothers and grandfathers.”
But most of all, “They were all Americans,” Maniscalco said.
“Today is a day for us to remember. Today is a day for us to never forget. Today is a day for us to honor those who have sacrificed.
“One of the best ways we can honor them is to continue to practice our democratic values. To continue with fervor and an unending desire for, in the words of Thomas Jefferson, ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’”
The ceremony concluded with the audience joining vocalist Valerie Greco in singing “God Bless America.”
McLaughlin said she hopes the field of flags can remain up on the lawn through the end of the month as a continuing reminder of what was lost that day.