Submitted by: Karl Schweitzer, Class of 1981
The rain put a damper on the 9/11 services and forced them inside the firehouse at Station 3. However, the ceremonies were still well attended.
Ex-Chief Schweitzer opened up the ceremonies, offering words of remembrance about that fateful September morning twenty-four years ago. “In an instant, our world changed in ways we could never have imagined, and while it is difficult to believe that this Thursday, twenty-four years will have passed, we come together to recognize and honor those lives lost and those who continue to be impacted by that day, and by all the days that have followed".
The Department was joined by members of the families of Terrence Farrell and George Howard, members of the Department who were killed 24 years ago. The Department took a moment to recognize and thank all our first responders, police, fire, and emergency services, as well as the military veterans, for their service.
Gathering each year is our duty and our obligation as a department and a community to make it our responsibility to keep this day in our hearts and prayers.
Following prayers from the Department Chaplain and Holy Family Pastor, Christopher Sullivan, Schweitzer read aloud twenty names representing those who once called Hicksville their home and were taken on that horrible day or the days, weeks, months, and years after due to the effects of the 9/11 attacks. He added that “though we can never erase the pain, or bring back those losses, we can honor their sacrifice by pledging our resolve to always remember them”.
- Nancy Bueche
- Mark Colaio
- Stephen Colaio
- Terence Connolly
- Ex-Chief Terrence “Terry” Farrell (Hicksville FD)
- NYPD Police Officer Scott Fusco (Hicksville FD)
- Honorary Chief George Howard (Hicksville FD)
- Gilbert Granados
- FDNY Lieutenant Ronald Kerwin (Levittown FD)
- NYPD Police Officer William Leahy
- Thomas McHale
- William Minardi
- Thomas Pedicini
- Firefighter Raymond Pfeifer (Hicksville FD)
- Steven Policino
- Kenneth Rice III
- Paul Tava
- Brian Terrenzi
- NYPD Police Officer Walter Weaver
- Arlene Zuzzolo
Just before the ceremonies were called to a close, Schweitzer asked everyone to take a few moments and reflect on the names attached to each of the 411 flags that had been placed on the lawn alongside the memorial. Each flag represents the innocent soul of a 1st RESPONDER who was killed while responding to assist in the tragic events of September 11, 2001, or in the days that followed.
This year, the department unveiled a new addition to their memorial — a “Survivor Tree”. This new addition is located in monument garden. The Survivor Tree is a Callery pear tree that is part of the Seedling Program which was launched in partnership with Bartlett Tree Experts and John Bowne High School in Queens in 2010. The original pear tree was discovered severely damaged at Ground Zero, in the months following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The tree was rehabilitated and returned to the permanent memorial in 2010. Each year, seedlings from the original Survivor Tree are gifted to communities that have endured tragedy.
The tree serves as a powerful symbol of survival, resilience, and rebirth in the face of tragedy.
Other cities and communities that have received seedlings besides Hicksville include:
- Boston, MA (2013 – Boston Marathon bombing)
- Joplin, MO (2015 – Tornado)
- Orlando, FL (2016 – Pulse Nightclub shooting)
- San Bernardino, CA (2016 – mass shooting)
- Pittsburgh, PA (2019 – Tree of Life Synagogue shooting)
- Las Vegas, NV (2017 – mass shooting that killed 58)
- Uvalde, TX (2023 – Robb Elementary School shooting)
- Waukesha, WI (2023 – Christmas parade incident)
- Greece (wildfires that killed 102 and injured 172)
As these communities continue their journeys toward healing, Schweitzer added that “we in Hicksville stand in solidarity with them and others around the world”. It is our hope that the seedling program will inspire resilience and hope wherever they are planted.
Following the dismissal of the Department, those present lined up through the rain and laid a flower at the memorial, to say a prayer, or just reflect in their own way, just what this day meant to each one of them.
