Ulster Sheriff Paul Van Blacum and Hein were among those attending
KINGSTON – Firefighters,
police, military and civic leaders assembled Friday morning in Kingston
to memorialize the 14th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks.
The ceremony happens every year in Firemen’s Park, at the intersection
of Washington and Hurley Avenues, on the outskirts of Uptown’s Stockade
business district.
Ulster County Executive Michael Hein and Mayor Shayne Gallo delivered
remarks.
“We stand here today, years later, saying to yourself, do we truly
remember? And the answer is of course we do. That crystal clear day is
burned into our memories. We remember those planes hitting those buildings,
and how sick and surreal we all felt, because we knew that people were
losing their lives right before our very eyes,” Hein said.
“Does it get any better? No it doesn’t. We don’t forget;
we get different.” Hein said. He thanked first responders for their
service. “The debt of gratitude overwhelms us, for those who’ve
been personally affected, and isn’t that really all of us? We feel
it individually, as a community, and as a nation. Hein stated that America
will do everything in its power to make sure incidents like 9-11 never
happens again.
Gallo agreed, thanking first responders for their service and sacrifice.
“We’re very proud and pleased to see what they do in our community
daily,” Gallo said. He recited the poem “One” by Sheryl
Sawyer, inspired by 9-11.
The ceremony concluded with a bagpipe rendition of Amazing Grace.
