Town remembers lives of 9/11 victims at service

The Island Now

North Hempstead Clerk Wayne Wink urged residents during Sunday’s Town of North Hempstead 9/11 memorial to remember the lives of the victims not just their deaths.

“After all, when and how the victims of 9/11 died, while incredibly meaningful to us all, pales in comparison to how they lived,” Wink said. “How they lived is what makes the dash the most meaningful part of the time they had here with us.”

Wink described this as “the dash,” or the punctuation between the date of someone’s birth and the date of their death. 

The 56 North Hempstead residents who were killed during the attacks were honored during the morning ceremony held at Mary Jane Davies Green in Manhasset. 

Town Council members present each read off the names of the victims according to their district, followed by the ring of a bell after each name was called.

Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth said the attacks marked a significant chapter in the lives of those who witnessed it.

“Most of the adults here today, including myself, will forever divide our life experience into two halves, before 9/11 and after 9/11,” she said. “That was the day when everything we though we knew about the world, and our place in it, changed.”

The ceremony had two moments of silence, at 8:46 a.m. and 9:03 a.m., to observe the times when each of the Twin Towers were struck.

Albertson VFW Post 5253 presented the colors to start the ceremony, and performed taps and fired a rifle salute.

Wink said there are more young people growing up without a memory of the attacks as the anniversaries pass. It is important, he said, to continue to recognize the loss experienced by our nation.

One Manhasset teen, Corey McCluskey, has paid tribute to the victims at the town ceremony with a bagpipe performance for the past eight years. 

“Every year I feel an honor to be a part of this ceremony, and it’s really something special to grow up with my community, and I’m just happy to be here,” McCluskey said.

This year he performed the national anthem on his bagpipes, the last time he’ll perform at the ceremony before he goes off to college.

A member of Boy Scout Troop 10 of Great Neck presented a wreath of white flowers to memorialize the 9/11 victims. 

The Boy Scouts silently marched in a line, placing the wreath at the foot of the park’s gazebo.

Bosworth said she took the day of reflection as a chance to also recognize other cities around the world that had experienced terrorist attacks.

“We have become a global family who has collectively mourned the loss of 49 people murdered in Orlando, Fla. this past June, the 130 people killed in Paris last November, and the 32 people killed in Brussels by suicide bombers, among so many tragic attacks throughout the world,” Bosworth said. “Just as we stood together on Sept. 11, 15 years ago, we must stand together now, because we are Orlando, we are Paris and we are Brussels.”



<p class=Town residents gathered on Sunday for a morning service at Mary Jane Davies Green in Manhasset to honor the lives lost during the Sept. 11 terror attacks 15 years ago.

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<p class=Town residents gathered on Sunday for a morning service at Mary Jane Davies Green in Manhasset to honor the lives lost during the Sept. 11 terror attacks 15 years ago.

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<p class=Town residents gathered on Sunday for a morning service at Mary Jane Davies Green in Manhasset to honor the lives lost during the Sept. 11 terror attacks 15 years ago.

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by Chris Adams

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