TOWN OF DEWITT – A commemoration of the 23rd anniversary of 9/11 was held last week at the memorial monument outside the DeWitt Town Hall on Butternut Drive.

The somber ceremony began with an invocation provided by Father Lester Smith from St. John the Baptist/Holy Trinity Church, during which he asked the gathered crowd to pray for and remember all those who died in New York City, near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and in Arlington County, Virginia amid the coordinated terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Along with the other fatalities from the destruction of the World Trade Center, the plane crash into the Pentagon, and the hijacked United Airlines flight downed by its passengers in that rural part of Pennsylvania, the local priest wished for the first responders and ordinary citizens who died either trying to save others that day or from ailments stemming from those attacks in the years since to “be with glory and happiness forever.”

Smith also prayed for everyone who lost loved ones as a result of 9/11 to be consoled and blessed, and he wished for strengthened faith, humility, and the protection of the United States in the midst of darkness and suffering that has enveloped the world.

Rev. Joe Colon, the DeWitt Police Department’s chaplain, then came to the podium as the night’s next guest speaker and thanked all the attendees in front of him who came to remember the heroes of 9/11 and the 3,000-plus American lives lost.

Remembering that fateful, unsuspecting day in 2001 as a blue-sky morning with autumn in the air, Colon said into the microphone, “23 years ago, our nation was attacked and all our lives would change…As a nation, we promise to never forget those that were killed.”

Colon, a former detective with the New York City Police Department who spent time at Ground Zero as a spiritually and emotionally supportive presence comforting rescuers, said the country is still losing people from 9/11 and that 23 years later New York City’s police and fire departments are still adding names to their memorial walls honoring first responders who have died in the line of duty due to 9/11-related cancers.

Colon went on to mention some of the ways our society has changed since Sept. 11, 2001, from the initiation of war in Afghanistan and Iraq to enhanced domestic security and the creation of new federal agencies and disaster protocols.

Before hoping for the safety of every attendee there that night with his closing benediction, Colon showed his respects by listing names of people he served alongside who died either in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks or because of lingering related health effects, including Manhattan narcotics officers, Bronx patrolmen and a member of the NYPD’s counterterrorism unit.

“If I could give you one lesson I learned at Ground Zero, it is to live your life like it’s going to be your last day,” Colon said. “Kiss your loved ones, and do not leave your home angry. Tell your loved ones you love them, because life can change in a matter of a second, and you can never get that time back.”

During the ceremony, DeWitt Deputy Supervisor Kerry Mannion thanked the town’s 9/11 Committee for continuing to put on the ceremony year after year and recognized some of the local emergency responders that serve the town for the “very special job” they do for the community, namely the DeWitt, East Syracuse and Jamesville fire departments and EAVES Ambulance. He also passed blessings onto the men and women serving proudly and honorably in the military and in law enforcement.

Mannion also expressed admiration for the collective response of his fellow Americans to 9/11 over the past 23 years, commending how the country’s citizens have looked at it as a day to put differences aside, give their thoughts to the people who died and their families, and not take what they have for granted.

“While 9/11 is consistently a solemn reminder of those we lost on this day 23 years ago, it has also become a day of reflection for the entire United States of America,” Mannion said. “It’s a day all of us come together and thank one another for our freedom and all for which our country stands.”

Last week’s ceremony in DeWitt further included the posting of the colors performed by the New York Air National Guard 174th Attack Wing’s color guard, a rifle salute by the DeWitt Police and Manlius Police honor guards, the playing of “The Rowan Tree” and “Amazing Grace” by bagpiper Jack Hines, the playing of the “Taps” bugle call by Dan Andrianos, and the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful” by soloist and executive director of Syracuse Challenger Baseball Dom Cambareri.

There was also a wreath presentation by the event’s chairperson, DeWitt Town Councilor Joe Chiarenza, with his son by his side and a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance led by DeWitt Police Captain Brenton White, the emcee for the evening.

At the mic, White also thanked the Suburban Garden Club for putting in about 150 volunteer hours every year to maintain the flowers around the town’s memorial.

Located beside the town hall parking lot and standing as a beacon of hope and unity, the memorial display’s monument is a 21-foot-tall, twisted steel column of World Trade Center debris recovered from Ground Zero with sculpted stainless steel flames on top representing the Twin Towers.