With solemn words, shared memories, and a theme of unity, the Fischer Hewins VFW Post 6249 hosted its annual 9/11 remembrance ceremony, paying tribute to the nearly 3,000 lives lost 24 years ago and honoring the lasting sacrifices of those who responded.
Local residents, first responders, veterans, and elected officials gathered at the post, reflecting on how the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, forever changed the nation—and how, for a brief time, Americans stood together as one.
“This country felt the major sting of terrorism that day,” said military historian and teacher Rich Acritelli, the event organizer who served as a Staff Sergeant in both the Army Reserves and the New York Air National Guard. “On a sunny morning, as citizens went about their daily routines of putting children on buses and heading to work, America was permanently changed.”
Acritelli reminded those gathered of the local connections to the tragedy. Three Rocky Point High School graduates—Samantha and Lisa Egan and Joanne Ahladiotis—were among the 658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees killed in the North Tower. Another graduate, NYPD Emergency Services Unit Officer Michael S. Curtin, died while ensuring fellow officers evacuated before the building collapsed. His remains were not recovered for months, and his heroism was later recognized with a 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor from President George W. Bush.
“These were our neighbors,” Acritelli said. “Their names are etched in Rocky Point’s memory, a reminder that even in a small town 70 miles from Manhattan, the impact of 9/11 was deeply personal.”
Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon reflected on the unity that defined the period after 9/11. “What impressed me the most was in the days and weeks that followed, everyone was an American,” Toulon said. “We have lost that over the last several years, and we have to get that back. We are still all Americans.”
Former Major League ballplayer Frank Tepedino, a Rocky Point resident and a member of the Fire Patrol, responded to Ground Zero. “The heroes are the ones who put their lives on the line to save others,” Tepedino said. “We were strong, we were Americans, we cared about each other.”
Suffolk Legislator Chad Lennon, a Marine veteran, recalled watching the attacks unfold from his dorm at Wagner College. “Let’s never forget the people who went running into danger,” Lennon said. “It takes a special person to do this.”
Also attending the ceremony was Brookhaven Councilwoman Jane Bonner, who noted, “All of the speakers were very elegant in sharing what America went through that day. The Rocky Point community was hit very hard by the tragedy. It is important that we never forget.”
Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio noted how the country changed: “There was a big difference between September 11 and September 12 when we all came together to help our neighbors and our country. Let’s remember that every day.”
Acritelli traced the broad national changes that followed—airport security, bag checks at sporting events, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security—and the emotional toll that stretched from Manhattan to the suburbs of Long Island. “From Montauk to Huntington, there are streets, buildings, and parks re-named after Suffolk residents who were lost,” he said. “It was essentially one of the longest days in American history.”
He was joined at the ceremony by Post Commander Frank Lombardi, Vietnam Veteran Joe Cognitore, Bernie Furshpan with the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County, Scouts of Rocky Point Troop 244, and Mike Finnican and Jim Weeden from the 3256 Foundation, named from the badge number of Sergeant Curtin. “He stayed in that tower to get everyone out knowing he would not make it out himself,” Finnican said.
Despite the years that have passed, Acritelli said the lesson of 9/11 is as urgent as ever. “The message of this ceremony is simple: Never forget,” he said. “Never forget the innocent lives taken, never forget the bravery of those who ran toward danger, and never forget the unity that made us stronger as a nation.”