Community Corner

Stories of 9/11 Have Touched Hearts, Lives

Read some of the most poignant Patch stories about 9/11 and share your memories

September 11 is a time of reflection, of remembering lives cut tragically short on a day that left a heartbroken nation forever changed. But despite the overwhelming loss and despair, the 11 years since have been colored with the courage of survivors who have found the inner strength to persevere. Despite a loss of innocence, 9/11 has given birth to a sea of patriotism and an outpouring of volunteerism that shows the best of what America can be.

On this 11th anniversary of Sept. 11, Riverhead Patch would like to take a moment and share some of the local stories that have touched our lives.

The sun was shining on Reeves Beach in Riverhead on Friday, reflecting off the sparkling waves. The beach, warm and inviting, looked much as it did the day, 11 years ago, when Bob Kelly last saw his brother, Thomas Kelly, for the last time.

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Kelly, who lived in Riverhead full-time,one of seven members of Engine 219, Ladder 105 who died on September 11 after the terrorist attacks.

The Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals remembers the fateful call that brought the organization to Ground Zero and the animals and humans that worked to save lives.

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Immediately following the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Suffolk SPCA was contacted by the NYPD, asking that the organization bring their mobile animal hospital. They went right away and over an 8-week period performed over 1,000 treatments on 300 animals working at Ground Zero (as well as some of their caretakers).

Five days before Sept. 11, Anthony P. Bottan Sr.'s best friend left him a voicemail. 

There was nothing special about it, one buddy asking another if he had time for lunch. Bottan didn't have time to call back, never mind sit down and eat.

The next week, his friend, a Cantor Fitzgerald employee, was dead, one of about 3,000 victims of the terrorist attack that destroyed the Twin Towers.

"I don’t put things off anymore. Life is too short, and full of unexpected surprises."

The vignette, written by our Rockville Centre editor's father, is one of nearly a thousandPatch.com ran throughout the country leading up to today, the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

When Westhampton Beach resident Lisa Jordan heard the phone ringing just after midnight one Sunday in May, her first thought was that something had happened to her oldest son, Andrew, studying history at Iona College.

“I was scared,” she said.

But, her son was calling to tell her that history was unfolding — Osama bin Laden, the terrorist who masterminded the Sept. 11 tragedy that left her a widow and her four children fatherless, was dead.


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