A small gathering of West Hempstead residents, community leaders and families of the 12 local men killed 11 years ago in the September 11th attacks held a candelight memorial ceremony Tuesday night.
The group stood near the 9/11 memorial garden inside and the future site of a new tribute that will include a section of steel retrieved from the fallen World Trade Center, which
One-by-one they placed American flags around a sign depicting where the new memorial will be erected, as the names of the 12 residents who perished that day -- Scott D. Bart, 28; Bruce Douglas (Chappy) Boehm, 49; Jason Cefalu, 30; Kevin Nathaniel Colbert, 25; Ex-Lakeview Fire Chief Robert J. DeAngelis, 47; Jeffrey M. Dingle, 32; John Joseph Fanning, 54; Winston Arthur Grant, 59; Ralph M. Licciardi, 30;
Robert Thomas Linnane, 33; Mark Schwartz, 50; and William V. Steckman, 56, -- were read aloud.
"The shock and horror of that tragic day have subsided, replaced now with an emptiness and longing for an innocence lost," read a local clergyman.
Rosalie Norton, president of the West Hempstead Community Support Association, which coordinated the ceremony, said she hopes the memorial showcasing the piece of WTC steel will be complete by May 2013. She intends to share more details with the community going forward.
