Huntington Officials Join Families to Remember Those Lost on 9/11

Huntington Officials Join Families to Remember Those Lost on 9/11

Due to attendance limitations for gatherings during the pandemic, only a few dozen joined town officials Friday at the 9/11 Memorial in Huntington’s Heckscher Park to pay tribute to residents lost 19 years ago.

Families of the 43 Huntington victims were invited to the ceremony, while visitors to the park observed the event from outside the event area. Bill Ober, chairman of the town’s Veterans Advisory Board, led the Pledge of Allegiance, while Linda Catania performed the national anthem and Rabbi Yaakov Raskin delivered an invocation.

Supervisor Chad Lupinacci (R), Councilwoman Joan Cergol (D), Town Clerk Andrew Raia and Receiver of Taxes Jillian Guthman read the names of 43 residents and first responders who perished in the attacks. Ober and Fred Amore, vice chairman of the Veterans Advisory Board, delivered a bell salute for each victim. After reading the names, each town official placed roses in a vase.

The event ended with a moment of silence and Catania singing “God Bless America.” Raia also read a poem titled “Remember the Towers,” which was written by his former New York State Assembly staff member, the late Jack Townsend, and Amore played taps on the electric bugle.