West Hempstead Remembers 12 'Great' Men Taken On 9/11

"They were all great guys," Nikki Stamatas, a West Hempstead Kiwanis member, said of the 12 men whose names are etched into the 9/11 memorial the club erected at Halls Pond Park in West Hempstead.

They were young like , a West Hempstead grad, who was only 25; they were brave like , a local volunteer firefighter, who helped his coworkers evacuate the World Trade Center; and they were full of life like Scott Bart, who had married his true love only weeks before, she explained.

And they were all loved very much.

"We will never forget," Carol Walsh, of West Hempstead, wrote in a letter she carried with her Sunday to a memorial ceremony in the park.

Walsh, a retired New York City firefighter, was there to keep the memory of NYC Fire Chief John Fanning alive.

"Jack was always his own man and lived by his good values and love," Walsh, said of her late friend, mentor and leader. "He taught me and encouraged me and I fought fires with him ... [and] marched shoulder to shoulder with him [during my first St. Patrick's Day Parade.]

"It was one of my proudest memories," she added

Walsh, a West Hempstead resident, was part of a small gathering of loved ones, community members, politicians and clergymen who joined together at Halls Sunday evening to honor the 9/11 victims.

The ceremony is organized each year by the West Hempstead Kiwanis Club, which is also responsible for establishing and maintaining the 9/11 memorial garden at Halls. However, due to the which had been closed for renovations for several months, the club had to make a decision Friday to cancel the event completely or continue the tradition but on a smaller scale this year.

They chose the latter and spent hours this weekend cleaning up the garden, planting flowers and getting the word out about the tribute.

Their efforts gave way to a beautiful and intimate ceremony, where local Boy Scouts (and one Girl Scout) decorated the park's entrance with American flags and community members placed blue candles around the garden as local politicians read the names of the 12 men who lost their lives when the Twin Towers collapsed.

"One of the great things about events like this is this his how we came together in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks ... as communities," New York State Assemblyman Ed Ra said.

As they reflected on that which had been taken away from them on Sept. 11, they were also reminded to appreciate everything they do have.

"We truly wake up every morning better than 99 percent of the people on the face of the Earth, and we have to remember that in times like today and make that a part of our lives as we go forward," Andy Thaw, a Kiwanis member said.

"None of us anymore can really take for granted our firefighters, our police officers, our EMTs ... they went in when others were coming out," Nassau County Legislator Vincent Muscarella said, describing 9/11 as "America's darkest day but also it's finest hour."

He also reflected back on the days after Sept. 11 when the country was more united and people were more civil to one another.

"I long for that feeling again," he added.

Pointing to the young people in the crowd, Hempstead Town Councilman Ed Ambrosino, said the country owes it to them to continue to fight for the freedoms older generations have always enjoyed.

"The Twin Towers still stand," he said. "The Twin Towers are not buildings ... they are in the phrase, 'We are the land of the free and the home of the brave,' and we shall be forever more."

Check out the photos from the ceremony above.