TOWN OF DEWITT – The Town of DeWitt held its annual 9/11 commemoration ceremony Monday evening outside the town hall on Butternut Drive.

With fire engines lining the nearby roadside, DeWitt Police Chief Chase Bilodeau welcomed the attendees gathered in front of the town’s memorial monument as the somber anniversary night’s master of ceremonies. That memorial display located beside the parking lot entrance contains a 21-foot-tall, twisted steel column of World Trade Center debris recovered from Ground Zero following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks along with sculpted flames representing the Twin Towers.

Bilodeau then introduced the 174th Air National Guard Honor Guard with the posting of the colors and Jamesville-DeWitt High School student Rena Beickert, who sang a rendition of “The Star-Bangled Banner” and led the crowd in the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Rev. Joe Colon, the chaplain for the DeWitt Police Department, then provided the invocation, expressing surprise upon being called up that it had been 22 years since the fateful day being commemorated.

“Twenty two years ago our lives were changed, so let us have a moment of prayer for those we have not forgotten,” Colon said at the start of the ceremony. “We come today to remember those who lost their lives in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. We also want to pray for the families of those we lost on that day—I’m sure their grief still weighs on them.”

The guest speaker for the memorial event was New York State Trooper Mark Bender, who has been in law enforcement for 29 years, 13 of those as a canine handler.

Currently a K9 coordinator for New York State Police Troop D, Bender spent approximately three months in New York City to assist with relief, recovery and security efforts in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, which he called one of the darkest days in modern history and “a day that forever changed our world.”

“On that fateful Tuesday morning, our nation was shaken to its core when terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, carrying out a coordinated attack that took nearly 3,000 innocent lives and left an indelible mark on humanity,” Bender said. “For those of us that were alive that day, we will always remember where we were and what we were doing when those attacks unfolded.”

In Bender’s case, he was getting dressed and preparing to head in for a day of work at the station. As the news reports began to roll in, he found himself standing at the edge of his bed and staring at the television in disbelief, he said.

As a trooper and trained paramedic, Bender was soon thereafter contacted by Albany officers about the possibility of deployment to New York City, but he said that like wave after wave of his fellow first responders, he took up the unexpected assignment enthusiastically.

“We all wanted to be there to help in any way possible,” Bender said. “Arriving at Ground Zero, I will never forget how huge the area was that was affected.”

Bender said the entire scene was unforgettable to the senses but that one memory that sticks with him is the sight of a firefighter covered head to toe in dust who was sitting on a piece of bent debris drinking a bottle of water. The man had asked to use Bender’s cell phone because he had not been able to touch base with his family for the prior 72 hours to let them know he was okay.

While going into lower Manhattan each day on the West Side Highway, Bender also recalls seeing people waving to him in his police vehicle and thanking him and other officers for their community service and sacrifice, many of those civilians twirling American flags or draping the large red, white and blue cloths over their shoulders.

“In the days, weeks and months after the attack, we as Americans became one,” Bender said. “We came together for each other, for our country, and for those we lost.”

He said, however, that the attack had other persisting adverse effects, bringing to mind the first responders who were subjected to dangerous contaminants like asbestos and silica. From Bender’s barracks alone, two men he referred to as “brothers in gray,” Sgt. Jeff Cicora and Sgt. Brent Chomyszak, lost their lives battling cancer brought on by breathing in toxins from the rubble.

The DeWitt 9/11 commemoration this week further included a wreath presentation by event chairperson Joe Chiarenza, one of the town’s councilors, with his son by his side. There was also a rifle salute performed by the honor guard representing both the DeWitt Police Department and the Town of Manlius Police Department, the playing of the “Taps” bugle call by Dan Andrianos, the playing of “The Rowan Tree” and “Amazing Grace” by bagpiper Jack Hines, and the singing of “America the Beautiful” by Dom Cambareri, the executive director of Syracuse Challenger Baseball.

DeWitt Councilor Jack Dooling was also invited to the podium, and he thanked the women of the Suburban Garden Club for putting in 150-plus hours year-round maintaining the flora surrounding the town’s 9/11 memorial. Dooling then asked the veterans in attendance from any branch of the United States military to stand up or raise their hands as he thanked them for all they’ve done, including one man who is a candidate for the Silver Star Medal.

Bilodeau ended by acknowledging the town, county and state police departments; the town, village and hamlet fire departments; and the ambulance services present for the ceremony.

In his closing benediction, Colon prayed that “all first responders walk safely in their courageous service” and passed along a wish for blessings to come to all who stopped by for the evening’s ceremony.