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Families Gather at 24th Anniversary of 9/11 Attack To Toll Bells, Read Names of Loved Ones Lost, Share in Collective Grief and Strength
By Tina Traster
The long shadow of 9/11 reminds us of what happened on that tragic day, how we endeavor to heal, and what it means to be an American. This year’s 24th anniversary of that unthinkable attack unfurled in both the long shadow of that day and the short shadow of an alleged political assassination that took place on a college campus in Utah less than 24 hours earlier. While the ceremony at Haverstraw Bay County Park marked the occasion for the victims and their families, Chaplain David Lothrop, who led the tribute, twice referenced “these difficult times.”
Twenty-four years after this country bonded together in solidarity against the first strike on American soil, and sought retribution toward a common enemy, we are living in a divided nation that is at war with itself. Lothrop paid tribute to the 9/11 families who have kept their faith, remained strong, and have supported one another through the years, reminding us that the infamous occasion has been renamed “Patriot’s Day.”
Sept. 11 once again delivered a cerulean cloudless sky with a warm late-summer sun beating down over the sylvan riverside park. The shimmering Hudson Bay and the silhouette of the moon hanging high above bathed the ceremony in surreal beauty. More than 400 people gathered at the Sept. 11 granite memorial site, which lists each Rockland resident who lost his or her life that day, as well as one victim of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
“This is a solemn occasion,” said Lothrop. “Once again we come to remember.”
At 8:46, a bell tolled to mark a moment of silent prayer for the attack on the North Tower of the World Trade Center. A second bell tolled at 9:03 to initiate another silent prayer for the attack on the South Tower. Five additional bells marked the attack on the Pentagon, the crash of Flight 93 in Shanksville PA, the collapse of the North and South towers, and the World Trade Bombing.
“We remember our loved ones today, tomorrow, in the future, always,” said Lothrop. “They live in our hearts. In these difficult times in which we live, it’s even more important for us to remember.”
Lothrop did not explicitly address the divisiveness we are living with or the political terrorism and incessant shootings that pits Americans against one another. But he did recall the hand of international terrorism, and the way it took our “innocence from us.” He spoke about America’s foundational principles: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. But more poignantly he said, “tomorrow’s freedoms are promised to no one.”
These wise words came amid a torrent of beautiful poetry and meditations read by families who lost loved ones on 9/11, as well as a somber address from Rockland County’s Poet Laureate, Juan Pablo Mobili.
“Pain is insistently particular. Yours is yours. It’s a distinct wound.”
He added, “We do our best to live – for us, for them.”
Sometimes Rockland can seem like a world unto itself, but it is forever tethered to New York City, the region, and 9/11, especially the legions of firefighters and first responders. Both before and after the ceremony, people talked about moments seared into their memories. They exchange anecdotes – some as raw as they were 24 years ago — of the sounds, the stench, and the sadness of that day, and its long tail.
As County Executive Ed Day said, “The tragedy didn’t end when the smoke cleared.”
The ceremony wound down with Cantor Sally Neff singing “You Raised Me Up,” and then “God Bless America,” joined by people in the audience. The bagpipes of Rockland County Police Emerald Society keened “Amazing Grace” to close the occasion.
