New Canaan Marks 9 11 in Ceremony at Town Hall on 9 11 15
Uploaded by Michael Dinan on 2015-09-11.
The New Canaan Police Department Honor Guard stands in front of Town Hall while Msgr. William Scheyd of St. Aloysius Church leads the community in prayer during a 9/11 memorial service on Sept. 11, 2015. Credit: Michael Dinan
“Was there ever a time when we all felt so desperately that we wanted to do something for our country, for our community or for our families?” Mallozzi told more than 100 residents, town workers and emergency responders who gathered on Town Hall’s front lawn for a solemn ceremony honoring those who lost their lives during the terrorist attacks of 9/11. “That was the good that came from the evil. So today we will take a moment and remember New Canaan’s own Bradley Fetchet, Eamon McEneaney and Joe Coppo.”
“Fourteen years have passed, and I can confidently speak for every one of us that images and emotions that are present today are the same ones that we felt in 2001,” Mallozzi said on this clear, cool morning.
Capt. Vincent DeMaio of the New Canaan Police Department stands in front of Town Hall while Fire Chief Jack Hennessey addresses more than 100 people who gathered for a 9/11 memorial service on Sept. 11, 2015. Credit: Michael Dinan
Organized this year by the New Canaan Fire Department, the service returned to Town Hall for the first time since a major renovation and expansion, and included prayers led by Msgr. William Scheyd of St. Aloysius, moments of silence, presentation of the colors by the Police Honor Guard, placement of a wreath at the 9/11 relic in front of the firehouse by police, fire and EMS representatives, singing of “God Bless America” by Nancy Upton, and placement on the relic of three white carnations for each of the New Canaan residents who lost their lives in the attacks.
Fire Chief Jack Hennessey told those gathered that the relic is a 16-foot section of steel column from the core section of Tower One on the 99th floor, “just above the impact point of United flight 175.”
“The base of the memorial is shaped as a pentagon and there is some earth from Shanksville, Pennsylvania placed underneath the base,” Hennessey said.
The fire chief reminded those gathered about the lingering medical effects of 9/11 for many of those who ran toward and into the horror and chaos of the attacks in order to get others out.
“The Centers for Disease Control report that there are more than 71,000 survivors and responders that are receiving medical monitoring and medical treatment due to their Sept. 11 injuries,” he said. “More than 33,000 survivors and responders have at least one injury or illness related to the Sept. 11 attacks. Over 3,700 responders and survivors have a cancer related to the events of Sept. 11.”
Hennessey said that prior to telephones and radios, firefighters communicated between stations by telegraph when a death had occurred, and a firefighter rang a bell “5-5-5” three times during the ceremony for the three town residents who died in the attacks.
Scheyd in leading those gathered in prayer noted that Sept. 11 left families with broken hearts and said ceremonies where those lost are remembered serve as a reminder and reaffirmation that we remain attached to them. In the aftermath of 9/11, he said, “We banded together not to be defeated, but rather to rise up stronger and to help one another go forth as one nation, under God.”