Nearly 2,000 people came out to a memorial service at Point Lookout on Long Island Wednesday to remember the lives lost on 9/11.
A choir sang to the crowd as state and local officials placed a wreath on a granite wall etched with the names of those who died on 9/11, as well as those who lost their lives from illnesses related to the tragedy.
Retired FDNY Lieutenant Michael O’Connell spent months working in the rubble at Ground Zero. He has since been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease associated with exposure to toxins at the disaster site.
“I was 25-years-old on 9/11, 32-years-old when I was first diagnosed, and I’m very lucky to still be here to tell my story because so many of my friends aren’t.”
O’Connell pushed lawmakers over the summer to approve permanent federal healthcare funding and compensation for 9/11 survivors and their families. President Trump signed the measure into law in July.
New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul spoke to the crowd about the emotions that united the country in the aftermath of 9/11.
“As diverse as we were, racially different, we come from different places, we pray to different gods, but we were all united as Americans, and I ask: can we recapture that spirit?”
A memorial bell rang at the service to commemorate the four plane crashes on the day.
