Sept. 11th Commemoration Will Be Remembered
This year’s commemoration of the terrorist attacks that wreaked havoc on September 11, 2001 is already receding into memory. But, at Huntington High School, the small ceremony held earlier this month will long be remembered by those who participated in it.
Students and staff gathered near the main lobby with several entire classes in attendance. Principal Carmela Leonardi led the group in a moment of silence for the nearly 3,000 Americans who lost their lives that dark day. English teacher Mickey Baron oversaw the reading of three touching poems, each of which offered a reflection on how people felt and reacted to the events of 9/11. Students also sang songs of remembrance. The event concluded with lone trumpeter Max Smoller playing a sobering rendition of “Taps.”
William Byrne, a social studies at the school who was recalled to active duty following the attacks and spent several years serving in the Air Force, attended the ceremony in his dress uniform “to remind people that there were troops of all services still active in the world trying to bring the people that committed these atrocities to justice,” he said.
More than 100 students and teachers attended the event this year, which has been held annually since that tragic day in 2001. “This is always a very moving day for me, as I still actively fly for the Air Force Reserves,” Mr. Byrne said. “I try to never forget why I am flying into countries around the world.”
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