By Paul Silverfarb
Sentinel Editor
On the 15th anniversary of the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, the town of Greenwich will be hosting its September 11th Remembrance Service at the new 9/11 Memorial in Cos Cob Park.
The service will take place Sunday at 5 p.m. Greenwich First Selectman Peter Tesei will speak to the guests, while the Rev. Richard DenUyl of the First Congregational Church in Old Greenwich will give the opening prayer and the Rev. Heather Sinclair of the First United Methodist Church of Greenwich will give the closing prayer.
The Greenwich Academy Madrigal Singers will perform the National Anthem; a bagpipe band will also perform.
A three-member honor guard, comprised of a representative from the Greenwich Police Department, Greenwich Fire Department and GEMS, respectively, will bring the American and Greenwich flags. The Boys and Girls Club Honor Guard will carry out the folded flags of honor.
“It’s meaningful for us to have a location that memorializes the events of 9/11 because there were so many people involved that were from Greenwich,” Greenwich Police Chief Jim Heavey said. “Secondary to that is that the first responders have a brotherhood amongst other first responders. Many of our fire, police and EMS went down to assist in anything they could do. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 15 years.”
The town’s annual memorial service used to be held outside at Town Hall; that lasted until 2014, when the service moved to the Glenville Fire Station, next to its 9/11 memorial, a 1,700-pound steel beam recovered from Ground Zero.
“It’s an honor to have the town come over with what they’ve done every year under the leadership of Christopher Hughes,” said Sally Maloney of one of the prime remembrance organizers through the years. Sally’s oldest son, Teddy, was working in the Cantor Fitzgerald office at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, and did not make it out alive.
“Chris’ drive has been more with the first responders, and ours has been with the families,” she added. “We are very happy and thrilled to have his whole force come over and join us as families and bring it all together. It’s a wonderful combination.”
During this year’s service, Maloney will read the names of the Greenwich victims lost on that tragic day. Emma Robertson, niece of Robert Walter Noonan, a trader for Cantor Fitzgerald who did not come home on Sept. 11, will ring a bell after each name is read aloud.
“We are all in a state of shock that it’s been 15 years,” Maloney said. “The fact is that the memorial is still so new and that the town has needed it. It’s amazing to me how many people go there and bring their families. I’ve seen tour buses stop by.”
Back on May 12 of last year, after four years of planning, designing and fundraising, ground broke on the new 9/11 Memorial—two glass towers set on a beautifully landscaped knoll in Cos Cob Park.
“It’s an important thing to remember and we are lucky to have a place in Greenwich where you can do that,” Heavey said. “It’s like a sacred location. I think it’s a special thing, especially with our close connection to New York and some of the victims being from town. It’s nice have more than one place to remember.”
