‘Let’s Never Forget the Ones We Lost’: Town Marks 9/11 at Ceremony

Fire Chief Albe Bassett remembers waking up on Sept. 11, 2001.

It “started out as a routine day,” Bassett recalled from the front steps of Town Hall on Thursday morning, addressing a crowd that gathered for the community’s annual 9/11 ceremony.

“Not even taking a minute to enjoy the weather, which is probably the same as it is this morning,” Bassett said. “An hour or so later, the tragedy started and the events that we’ll never forget took place.”

New Canaan lost three residents on 9/11—Joe Coppo, Eamon McEneaney and Bradley Fetchet.

 

Since then, 400,000 people have assisted in recovery efforts, Bassett said. 

“And since 2001, 6,700 more people, first responders, have perished from 9/11-related cancers, from recovery efforts,” the fire chief said. “Over 7,000 members of our military have perished defending our freedom, and millions of people continue to endure personal and emotional behavioral effects every day from the events. But we are resilient. We as a nation have once again come together to help each other. I would like to recognize today a few of the many organizations that were born from the tragedy of 9/11, 2001, and they continue to assist us.” Bassett spotlighted the following organizations during his address: 

• 9/11 Day of Service.
• Tunnel to Towers Foundation 
• The Wounded Warrior Project 
• Friends of Firefighters 
• Terry Farrell Foundation 
• Voices Center for Resilience

“Let’s continue to help each other together and keep the community efforts and keep the national efforts together,” Bassett said. “Let’s never forget. Let’s never forget the history. Let’s never forget the ones we lost, and let’s never forget those that made us better.”

Dozens of municipal workers and residents attended the approximately 30-minute ceremony on a clear, cool morning. It included prayers led by the Rev. Flavian Bejan of St. Aloysius Parish, presentation of the U.S. flag by New Canaan Police (Lt. Marc DeFelice and Officer Christopher Dewey), bagpipes, singing of the national anthem and “America the Beautiful” by Nancy Leville and placement of a wreath in front of the firehouse across Main Street that included three flowers representing each of the deceased local men. There, just outside the New Canaan Fire Department stands a 16-foot section from the floor of World Trade Center Tower One on the 99th floor, just above the impact point of United flight 175. Fire officials rang a bell 5-5-5—a pattern used during the telegraph era to signal that a firefighter had died in the line of duty.

Those in attendance included First Selectman Dionna Carlson, Paul Commission Chair Paul Foley, Fire Commission Chair Jack Horner and member Beth Jones, Town Council members Janet Fonss, Jennifer Zonis and Penny Young, Board of Education member Julie Toal, Board of Finance member Maria Weingarten and state Rep. Tom O’Dea (R-125th).

Bejan during an invocation prayer asked those gathered to remember “the first responders, firefighters, police officers, paramedics, who ran toward danger with courage and selflessness, many of whom laid down their lives so others may live,” thanking them for their bravery and praying for the families whose lives were “forever changed in an instant.”

“Surround them with love, support, and peace,” Bejan said. “Lord, we pray for our nation, for unity, for healing, and for wisdom to pursue justice, peace and strength. Send Your holy spirit and Your holy angels to guard and protect us against all evil. Help to remember not only the horror of this day, of that day, but also the compassion, solidarity and resilience of your people. May we be inspired to live with greater kindness and to work for the world so such tragedy never happens again.”

Carlson in her remarks as first selectman said that for those who lived through 9/11, “the memory remains vivid and painful.”

“It was a day that changed all of our lives and our nation and world forever,” she said. “We come together this morning not only to remember, but to honor the 2,977 innocent lives lost on that day. We recall with horror as American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 struck the World Trade Center Towers, as American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon and as the United Airlines Flight 93, thanks to the extraordinary bravery of the passengers, was brought down in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, preventing even greater tragedy.”

She said that for New Canaan, 9/11 is “deeply personal” with the losses of Coppo, McEneaney and Fetchet. 

“Their memories are woven into the fabric of our town, and their loss is still deeply felt by all who knew them,” Carlson said. “We also pay tribute to the first responders, firefighters, police officers, paramedics, and all those who ran toward danger without hesitation. Many gave their lives that day. Others have suffered in the years since from the physical and emotional toll of their heroism. We remember them, too, with gratitude and reverence. As we stand here in unity, let us reflect not only on what we lost, but on what we learned.”

In the face of “unimaginable tragedy,” the nation found “compassion and resilience,” she said, “reminding us of who we are at our very core.”

“Let this day continue to be a call not just to remember, but as a call to action, to be kind, to stay connected, to never take for granted the gift of another day,” she said. “May we hold the memories of all the fallen in our hearts, support those who still carry the burden of that day and remain forever committed to the promise that we’ll never forget.”

In a benediction prayer, Bejan offered the prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi for peace. 

“Peace in the world,” he said. “Peace in our country, peace in our families, and peace in our hearts. Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy. Oh, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood is to understand, to be loved is to love. For it is in giving that we receive.”