By Rick Pezzullo
Hung jointly by fire engines from Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, a large American flag flew prominently and proudly over Patriots Park Sunday morning during the 23rd annual remembrance ceremony of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Officials from the two villages gathered with the Tarrytown Fire Department and residents in recalling the horrific day in United States history where nearly 3,000 people were killed in separate incidents at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Shanksville, PA.
Reportedly, more than 5,000 additional people have died since the attacks from 9/11-related illnesses.
“Today, we gather not only in sorrow but in solidarity,” said Tarrytown Mayor Karen Brown. “On that day, we witnessed the unimaginable. We remember lives lost. Each life irreplaceable. We saw people of all walks of life come together, putting differences aside. May we never forget the losses of that day and know love conquers hate.”
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins remembered she was walking into a seminar on hunger led by Feeding Westchester when news of the first hijacked plane crashing into the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m. broke.
Seventeen minutes later, the South Tower was hit by another plane.
“We are stronger together. It’s up to us to fight the fight,” Stewart-Cousins said. “We can and we will be able to do that if we remember.”
Looking at two steel beams located under one of the bridges at Patriots Park, Sleepy Hollow Mayor Martin Rutyna said he was shocked to learn there are 2,200 pieces of the World Trade Center in municipalities across the United States.
“That should remind us how much our country grieves for those we lost,” Rutyna said. “We as a community our responsible for educating the next generation to honor our promise to never forget.”
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