Westhampton Beach Remembers 9/11

Under a nearly full moon, about 120 people gathered on the Westhampton Beach Village Green to listen to music, pray and sing and to recite the names of those they lost 10 years ago when a band of criminals hijacked four jumbo jets and crashed them into the dreams of a nation.

In a short ceremony arranged by the Hamptons Interfaith Council attendees listened and sang along as local attorney James Hulme played “Imagine” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

The Rev. Andrew Teagle of the A.M.E Zion Church in Quogue called the crowd to worship; he was followed by the Rev. John Roy of the Westhampton Methodist Church, who read from Ecclesiastes.

Members of Boy Scout Troop 62 held the colors as first responders, in dress blues, lined up by the gazebo, while the Chaplin of the Westhampton Beach Fire Department, Brian Dwyer, read a poem reminding all that firefighters put their lives on the line everyday. This echoed the words of the Rev. Patrick Ward, interim priest in charge at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Westhampton Beach, who recalled his days as a marine in Vietnam, when he knew what it was like for someone to have your back.

“This is a group of crazy men and women, who, when common sense says leave, they rush in,” he said.

Rabbi Avraham Bronstein of the Hampton Synagogue spoke of the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead, which, he said, was more of an affirmation of life.

Also on hand were the Rev. Ken Prill of the Center Moriches and East Quogue Methodist churches; Tammie-Rae Keeler, the pastor of the East Moriches Methodist Church; the Rev. Chuck Cary, the pastor of the Westhampton Presbyterian Church; Jack King, of the Westhampton Beach Methodist Church; Ridgie Barnett, president of the interfaith council; and Westhampton Beach Mayor Conrad Teller.

As the light faded, members of the community, who had been given candles, lit them one by one and, one by one, loved ones, family members and colleagues walked to the microphone and in front of “turn-out gear”—a firefighter’s hat, boots and coat— a traditional memorial for a fallen firefighter, spoke aloud the names of those lost, so no one will forget.

The following is a a poem read at the ceremony.

The Last Alarm
My father was a fireman, he drove a big red truck,
And when he'd go to work each day he'd say "Mother, wish me luck."
Then dad would not come home again until sometime the next day,
But the thing that bothered me the most was the things some folks would say:
A fireman's life is easy, he eats and sleeps and plays,
and sometimes he won't fight a fire for many, many days.
When I first heard these words I was young to understand,
But I knew when people had trouble Dad was there to lend a hand.

Then my father went to work one day and kissed us all goodbye,
but little did we realize that night we all would cry.
My father lost his life that night when the floor gave way below,
And I wondered why he'd risked his life for someone he did not know.
But now I truly realize the greatest gift a man can give
is to lay his life upon the line so that someone else might live.
So as we go from day to day and pray to God above,
Say a prayer for your local fireman,
He may save the ones you love.

Download the movie