FROM THE MAYOR’S OFFICE: Resilience 9/11 Memorial

Though twenty-one years have passed since the fateful day that our country was attacked and that we lost nearly 3,000 souls between the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and United Flight 93, the memory of these events remain with us. Today we honor all who perished but especially the residents that we lost. The men and women who made the Warwick Valley their home, who came here for its beauty and sense of safety or to raise a family. A place that after a long day of work whether as a NYC Fireman, an executive for a large corporation, a designer, or an engineer, Warwick was here, their community, their extended family.

It is for that reason, that when the unexpected and tragic happens that as a community we embrace, we reach out, we listen, and we comfort. Today is part of that and it is with gratitude I thank the Warwick Fire Department who have organized today’s ceremony. Thank you as well to the American Legion and the VFW who organized the Memorial Ceremonies prior. Along the way there are many who have been part of our communities’ efforts to ensure that those we lost are not forgotten. It is the committees and artists who designed the 9/11 Monument in Memorial Park and the Sculpture Garden in Stanley Deming Park. It is the volunteers and our Department of Public Works that help maintain the plantings and surround these Memorials. It is our teachers who explain to our children what occurred and the aftermath. It is parents who bring a child to these Memorials and ceremonies that help them understand the gravity and importance of history.

The ripple effect of the 9/11 attack will continue to touch our lives. The ensuing war and casualties have been a constant heart-breaking reminder. The health issues that plague the men and women who were on site in lower Manhattan to search for lives and to clear debris is an impact that will continue to haunt us.

This has been a test of our resilience. We have grown stronger because we understand the enormity of loss, the true meaning of compassion and the importance for us not to forget.