Brewster Fire Department Dedicates 9/11 Memorial

It all started a few years ago when the Brewster Fire Department asked the Port Authority of NY &NJ for a piece of steel left from the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 for their memorial. It culminated on the morning of November 5th at the Fire Department's Charles Doyle station house on Rt 312.

The Department held a dedication ceremony for their memorial built over the last few months alongside the Eagle Scout Project of Boy Scout, Andrew Gordon. Andrew designed and built a reflection garden just over 2 years ago.

The ceremony was attended by dozens of local residents along with the families of local men and women lost on that day. Several elected officials were also in attendance including County Executive Mary Ellen Odell, County Legislators Roger Gross and Joe Castellano. Southeast Town Council members Robert Cullen and Lynne Eckhart attended as well. The FDNY EMS Pipe and Drums performed throughout the ceremony from "call to order" at the start to a beautiful rendition of "Amazing Grace" near the conclusion of the dedication. Deacon Mark Shrekli of St. Lawrence O'Toole Parish who doubles as the Fire Department Chaplin performed the Invocation as well as the Dedication and Blessing of the memorial which consisted of the last piece of steel distributed by the Port Authority suspended between two support beams crafted to resemble the Twin Towers of WTC.

BFD Fire Commissioner Gerald A. Shramek served as master of ceremonies and several BFD Officers spoke of colleagues and friends lost that fateful day. Former County Executive Robert Bondi, who was in office at the time, was the keynote speaker who told of his experiences that day from his usual start of coffee with his wife to the mobilization of county fire departments to respond to WTC or to Westchester cities to provide fire and EMS services to those cities which had sent help to Ground Zero.

The families of Brewster Fire Department member Glenn Bisogno who passed away in March 2015 of cancer contracted at Ground Zero during rescue and recovery efforts to family members of Christopher Blackwell of Putnam Lake who was one of the 323 FDNY firefighters lost on 9/11.

During his remarks, Brewster Fire Department Chief Thomas Leather mentioned how there is whole generation of children who know of the events only through schools books and that we need to teach them the real stories behind the heroes lost that day and that we shall never forget them. At the conclusion of the events guests were milling about telling stories of their lost friends and heroes and there were very few dry eyes in the crowd yet the atmosphere was one now celebration of these heroes and that they indeed will "NEVER BE FORGOTTEN"!