Babylon families of those lost on 9/11 and others gathered Friday evening to dedicate a new memorial honoring residents who became ill or were killed in the attacks. Residents gathered at the Memorial Park in Cedar Beach for the unveiling.
“I believe what shocked us the most that morning,” said supervisor Rich Schaffer, “was not the unthinkably diabolical method used to attack us, or the scope and magnitude of those attacks, but that it was our way of life that was attacked . . . for 25 years we’ve said two words, never forget.”
The Memorial greets the public with a pathway of 24 American flags and six stones with a description and exact time frame of each plane crash. The new 9/11 memorial was placed 20 feet away from the entrance, giving it its own light. The memorial was made possible through the work of the town board, the Post 911 Memorial Committee, and the Town of Babylon Chiefs Association.
“For too many families in our community, the years that followed brought illness, loss, and a sacrifice that has gone unmarked for far too long. This memorial is a permanent promise that behind every name is a person who was loved, and a family who has carried their memory forward. They will never be forgotten,” Schaffer said in a prepared statement.
During the ceremony, more than 30 first responders walked in silence wearing their uniforms as families stood near the stones of their loved one.
A small prayer from the local pastor was given to the lost souls and survivors of the attack as the unveiling brought an emotional moment for every individual and for the many retired officers who had to go back in time for just a moment.
Giselle Castro is a reporter with The SBU Media Group, part of Stony Brook University’s School of Communication and Journalism’s Working Newsroom program for students and local media.