Politics & Government

Westchester County Reflects on 9/11 by Candlelight

"Indeed, the American spirit is never stronger than when we reflect upon what may be our darkest day," said Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino.

The following is from Westchester County:


Hundreds of Westchester residents gathered Wednesday night for a solemn ceremony to remember the victims and heroes of Sept. 11, 2001.

The event took place at Kensico Dam Plaza, the site of The Rising, Westchester’s Sept. 11th Memorial. County Executive Robert P. Astorino was joined by other officials and relatives and friends of those who died on Sept. 11, as they dedicated a Ground Zero Beam of Remembrance.  

In his remarks, Astorino thanked former Gov. George Pataki for arranging for the beam to be brought to the rising, saying; “I cannot conceive a more fitting metaphor for the enduring American spirit that lives on vibrantly, twelve years after the worst attack in our country’s history. Steel, of course, is made primarily of iron—one of the strongest and most stable elements in nature. What’s particularly compelling is that carbon—the fundamental building block of all life—is added to steel to make it stronger. The more carbon that’s melded into steel, the stronger it becomes.

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“Likewise, the lives sacrificed on September 11th and the American blood that has been shed in the effort to rid the world of global terrorism, have in the same way made our nation stronger and more resilient than ever. Indeed, the American spirit is never stronger than when we reflect upon what may be our darkest day."


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