By Hank Russell
With local elected officials, police officers and first responders in attendance, Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine addressed the attendees during the 9/11 memorial ceremony in front of the county’s 9/11 memorial at the H. Lee Dennison Building’s Armed Forces Plaza in Hauppauge on September 11.
During the ceremony, Romaine urged everyone to remember this day and those who perished, and also called for national unity at a time, he said, when the nation has never been more divisive.
He remembered September 11, 2001 as “a day like today” when people turned on TV and the radio and were “shocked to see and hear what was going on.” The attacks resulted in the loss of over 3,000 lives, but, he said more lives would have been lost if it weren’t for the brave actions of a few who put their lives on the line, including the firefighters who ran into the World Trade Center to save as many people as possible, unaware of the dangers they faced.
“This is a day of remembrance,” Romaine said. “It was a day that heroes were made.”
In Suffolk County, “there were 171 families who were told that day … that their loved ones were gone,” Romaine said. “Since that day, we have seen many Suffolk residents perish as a result of 9/11[-related] illnesses.” Among those who died was John MacNamara, who was the county’s director of labor relations.
After the attacks, “we as a nation came together,” the county executive said, “and I’m sorry to see that it has taken a tragedy to unite us. Twenty-three years later, we are still divided as a nation and we should not be.”
In times of trouble, “we will come together and we will show our strengths as Americans,” Romaine said. “Today, we remember that all of those who died but we remember the unity and pride that we have as Americans.”
Romaine called for all Americans to “stand united more so than ever before … If there is a message here, it’s that we are united as Americans and we stand united.”
He also reiterated that those who died on September 11, 2001 should always be remembered. “We will never forget those who perished and we will always remember their sacrifice,” Romaine said.