Brookhaven Marks 25 Years Since 9/11 With Solemn Ceremony

The Town of Brookhaven marked the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with a solemn ceremony honoring the nearly 3,000 people killed that day, the first responders who raced toward danger and those who later died from 9/11-related illnesses.

Town Supervisor Dan Panico opened the ceremony by reflecting on the 2,977 people who began what should have been an ordinary September morning but never returned home.

“Behind that number are thousands of individual lives—husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, friends and coworkers,” Panico said.

Panico paid tribute to those killed at the World Trade Center, Pentagon and aboard Flight 93, as well as firefighters, police officers, first responders and ordinary citizens who risked or sacrificed their lives to save others.

He also recalled the unity that swept across the country following the attacks, when Americans donated blood, displayed flags and came together despite political differences.

“For a moment, we remembered that before we are Republicans or Democrats, liberals or conservatives, we are Americans,” Panico said.

With an entire generation now knowing Sept. 11 only through photographs, videos, classrooms and stories, Panico stressed the importance of teaching younger Americans about the victims, their families and the heroism displayed that day.

“In Brookhaven Town, we will never forget,” Panico said.

Chief Fire Marshal Chris Murphy followed Panico and explained the historic significance of the fire service bell before ringing it five times in remembrance. Murphy said Suffolk County’s “signal five” is traditionally transmitted by an incident commander to tell units to return to base.

At the ceremony, however, the five rings carried a more solemn meaning—symbolically calling home those who died on Sept. 11 and the thousands who later succumbed to illnesses connected to the attacks.

The ceremony began with Trish Koloski singing the national anthem.