The Town of Eastchester’s Annual September 11th Memorial Service will be held outside on the grounds of Eastchester Town Hall on Friday, September 11th, 2020 beginning 8:35am. In the event of rain, the ceremony will be cancelled and we will send an email by 8am to let you know. Please wear a mask and follow social distancing guidelines. We hope you can join us for a brief service as we reflect on the events of that tragic day and remember all of the lives that were lost. Westchester County and the City of Yonkers will hold their 9/11 Ceremonies online. All remembrances are appropriate, as long as we never forget and we make sure that those born after 9-11-01 are educated on what happeened to the 123 of our fellow Westchester residents who died that day.
9/11 Anniversary Submission-By Mary Turchi
There was a time when 9/11 wasn’t shorthand for tragedy.
There was a time when we oriented ourselves in Manhattan by the sight of the twin towers, shimmering in the distance.
There was a time when we weren’t urged to be on the lookout for suspicious backpacks left behind…when uniformed personnel with large guns did not guard airline terminals and train stations.
That was all before terrorists hijacked planes on a clear September morning in 2001 and set a collision course for the Twin Towers.
When the first plane hit the North Tower, there was universal disbelief. How could this happen? Visibility was good… Then the second plane came a few minutes later, hitting the South Tower, confirming the impossible that this was a purposeful attack.
Almost 3,000 regular folk had gone to work at the World Trade Center that day and died at their desks or as they fled down the stairways. When some were trapped on the fiery floors, they chose to die quickly by jumping out of the windows rather than stay and be burnt slowly.
About 400 firemen, police and Port Authority cops did their job, running into the buildings to save and protect, only to die themselves.
The unreality doubled when both buildings collapsed an hour later and sent giant toxic clouds down the streets.
All these images were broadcasted as they happened on the TV most Americans were glued to. Horrific sights never to be forgotten.
