Community Takes Time To Remember 9/11

Suzie Bunchuck, 14, a student at Greenport High School, was on her way to her first day of preschool when planes slammed into the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, and the world went dark with grief.

With her father, James Bunchuck, Suzie attended a "Never Forget" memorial service on Wednesday at Cochran Park in Peconic, where the public turned out to pay their respects on the 12th anniversary of 9/11, placing flags and saying prayers for the victims lost.

Gently placing flags into the ground, Suzie reflected on a day she was too young to remember, but that changed her life forever.

"It's bigger than words can describe. What they did was a terrible thing, and there's nothing I can do to change it. But it's the small things that can make a difference," she said.

Firefighters from both the Southold and Greenport Fire Departments worked together to raise a huge flag over the entrance to the park for the memorial.

"Many North Fork volunteer firefighters responded to Ground Zero when the 8th Division was activated on the morning of September 11th, 2001, and numerous firefighters from the North Fork, both FDNY and volunteer, aided in the rescue and recovery efforts," said Southold Fire Captain Joe McCarthy, who said that firefighters are a brotherhood.

He added that 343 members of the FDNY, from "young firemen all the way to the top brass in the department, were lost that day. We must never forget their sacrifice. They were the front line in the constant battle for the freedom we so often take for granted. Almost 3000 lives were taken on 9/11/01, and we as a nation, need to remember all of them. Never Forget."

Former Southold Town Councilman Vincent Orlando, who worked at Ground Zero after the attacks, said despite the atrocity of that fateful day, he remembers the acts of kindess that helped humanity, and hope, to rise from the ashes.

The mayor of Walker, Louisiana, a town with a population of just over 6000, got into his car and drove to lower Manhattan with a car full of supplies purchased with the proceeds of bake sales and fundraisers, to make vats of gumbo for the workers, Orlando remembered.

Other big companies, such as Rice-A-Roni, which sent workers to serve rice round the clock, and McDonald's, sent trucks and employees to Ground Zero, he added.

"People just opened their hearts," Orlando said.

Just as Southold residents did, to help complete the Southold Town Volunteer Firefighters Memorial at Cochran Park, which was finished last fall.

The memorial, dedicated to all Southold Town volunteer firefighters who have died in the line of duty, encircles the 9/11 memorial located at the park on Peconic Lane in Peconic.

The existing memorial was constructed of beams originally used to build the 33rd floor of the World Trade Center, and has a well-known and loved osprey wire sculpture, created by artist Roberto Julio Bessin, sitting on top of the beams. 

The memorial consists of a wall along with columns, identifying each Southold Town Fire Department.

Bricks cost $100; anyone can add a brick at any time; just speak with a firefighter for information.

According to McCarthy, the firefighter’s memorial is a forever tribute to the volunteers who gave their lives to help others.

Sitting below the memorial on 9/11 was a photo of a first responder who lost his life in the years since to a 9/11-related illness, along with flowers and flags, fluttering in the September sunshine.