More than 200 attend 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at Bradner Stadium Friday

By RICK MILLER

Olean Star

More than 200 people attended the 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at Bradner Stadium Friday morning to mark the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attack on America.

There was a theme many of the speakers addressed: to remember those who lost their lives, to honor the first responders and to make sure younger people are aware of the attacks and how the country united afterward.

One speaker observed that 100 million Americans alive today had not been at the time of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the plane that went down in Shanksville, Pa.

In her remarks, Olean Mayor Amy B. Sherburne emphasized the unity shown locally by neighbors and first responders after the tragedy she called “unimaginable evil.” 

She added: “We felt the loss here. Americans found a new sense of unity. For a brief moment, we remembered we were Americans first. In the days following September 11, Americans found a renewed sense of unity. Differences that seemed so important suddenly seemed much smaller.”

Sherburne said, “We must never forget the families who went to sleep that night without a husband, a wife, a parent, a brother, a sister, a friend. There are young people in our community today who were not yet born on Sept. 11, 2001. For them, Sept. 11 is history. For those of us who remember that morning, it is something different. We remember where we were. We remember watching the news. We remember the uncertainty. We remember the silence and we remember the extraordinary courage that followed. It is our responsibility to tell that story to the next generation, not to pass along fear, but to pass along understanding.”

Master of ceremonies, former Olean Fire Department Capt. Paul Melfi, thanked everyone for attending including local police and fire officials and representatives from the Olean American Legion and VFW.

A new Salamanca firefighter, Jeff Maybee, sang the National Anthem.

The Allegany American Legion Color Guard participated in the opening ceremony.

The Olean High School Band played God Bless America and other songs.

Father Stephen Minmaugh OFM, spoke of Father Mychal Judge, the New York City Fire Department chaplain who was one of the first responders to die at the World Trade Center. Minmaugh said he never met Fr. Judge, but after his death served in the same parish. “He loved the FDNY.” 

State Sen. George Borrello said Sept. 11, 2001 “was one of the worst days in American history.” People came together on that day, but 25 years later children and young adults really don’t know what happened. “It’s not taught in our schools. We cannot allow those next generations to not have a full and accurate understanding of what occurred.  We have to teach what happened so that no one ever forgets what happened that day.”

Assemblyman Joe Sempolinski said he was a college student in Washington, D.C. at the time of the terrorist attacks and saw black smoke rising from the Pentagon after the plane crashed into it. 

“Smoke was going up into eternity as far as you could see,” Sempolinski said. “It is important to pass along what happened. It’s important to pass along how people responded — that people were willing to run into those burning buildings.”  

The assemblyman also noted those on Flight 93 that prevented the terrorists onboard from crashing the plane into the Capital.

Olean Fire Chief Eric Maurouard told the audience, “There is no shortage of inspiring stories of firefighters, police officers and civilians who came to the aid of their neighbors” that day. “Each year, I choose to never forget by reading a few of their stories.”

He cited three stories. One, of an off-duty firefighter, Pier Bell, who drove to a firehouse when he heard the news. “I’m from Ladder 42. Please hold my stuff. Tell my family I love you.” He was among the 343 firefighters who died when the towers collapsed.”

The fire chief said, “I think that is what stays with me most. Their actions were out of love for strangers. They didn’t know these people. They weren’t family. They weren’t friends. They simply saw people who needed help and they chose to help.”

Speakers were often interrupted by a bell tolled at the time the planes hit the North and South towers, the Pentagon and when Flight 93 was downed in Shanksville, Pa., as passengers fought the terrorists. The toll of each bell was followed by a moment of silence.

Olean Police Chief Robert Blovsky said, “We are gathered to not only remember the more than 2,000 lives lost that day, but to honor the courage and sacrifice” of first responders. On that day, ordinary people became extraordinary heroes.”

He added: “I would also like to take a minute to remember the lives lost in the senseless acts of terrorism that have occurred since 9/11, such as school, church and business shootings.”

Olean Alderman Joseph Keary, a Lieutenant colonel in the Army, was working for the Veterans Administration when the planes struck the World Trade Center towers. He was ordered to New York City to help set up space in VA hospitals for mass casualties. 

Since no planes were flying, he drove to New York City. Driving on the New Jersey Turnpike, Keary saw the billowing smoke from where the Twin Towners once stood. He cried. Once he finally got into the city, he was informed the rescue mission had become a recovery mission. The added hospital space would not be needed.

“I was outraged and angry, like so many others, but also resilient and ready to serve,” Keary recalled. Then came the order to stand down. “We responded with a deeper sorrow as the intensity of the devastation was made real.”

The next day, Keary drove south on the New Jersey Turnpike, “passing the sacred ground of the smouldering Twin Towers complex now on my left. “I again had tears in my eyes, anger in my heart, fire in my soul.”

Never forget 9/11, he told the audience. “Do not forget the sacrifice of those who died at the hands of deadly peril. Don’t forget there are still people in this world who hate our way of life and who still wish us bad. Don’t forget the families who mourn their loved ones every day and the first responders who are still suffering and dying from the toxins they encountered during relief operations.”