by Alexa James
New Windsor — The crowd at Calvary Cemetery is small, 50 people at best, and the dedication ceremony for the new Sept. 11 memorial is short, just a few prayers and promises to "never forget."
Obviously, the folks gathered here have not. But as they look around them, some wonder, where is everyone else?
"Thousands of people live in New Windsor," says New York City firefighter Stan Sussina, in dress uniform at the ceremony. "Never forget," he quips, "It's all rhetoric now."
Those assembled yesterday watch as two priests sprinkle holy water on a scaled-down replica of one of the most revered images from Ground Zero — two steel beams, bent and severed in the shape of a cross, jutting out from the rubble.
The beams for this recreation were lifted from a demolition site at nearby Stewart Airport. There is also a large crucifix from a defunct Catholic school. The crosses, along with a flagpole and placard, are rooted in chunks of concrete and rusted steel, with benches on either side.
The installation was commissioned by Ed Flanagan, a New Windsor resident who watched the events of Sept. 11 on his TV.
He spent the past two years securing donated land from St. Patrick's Church and donated materials, labor and funds from local businesses and friends.
Flanagan didn't know anyone killed in the Twin Towers or on the planes, but at age 92, the World War II vet knew a thing or two about marking the passage of hard times.
There are monuments to veterans and their families in this cemetery. He worked on some of those, too, and thought it fitting to remember Sept. 11 in similar fashion.
After the prayer service, firefighter Sussina, of Montgomery, shakes Flanagan's hand and thanks him for caring so much.
He'd hoped there would be more here to do the same. Sussina admits he struggles with a sense of animosity toward those who have moved on too easily.
"It's not just reflective of New Windsor," he says. "It's reflective of the entire country."
Tomorrow morning, on the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attacks, Sussina will be one of the emergency first responders who will read the roll call of the dead in a New York City park near Ground Zero. He will announce 11 names, some teammates of his Rescue Company 3.
"What I'm trying to do," he explains, his voice now coming unglued, "is not let Sept. 11 be diluted into a holiday."
The Sept. 11 memorial is located near the main entrance of Calvary Cemetery, at the intersection of Routes 9W and 94 in New Windsor.
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