POUGHKEEPSIE – Calls for unity were widespread at 9/11 memorial services in Poughkeepsie on Monday. Beginning with the memorial hosted by Dutchess County Family Court Judge Tracy MacKenzie on the courthouse steps, references were made to the unity that was present on September 12, 2001, when the entire country united in the wake of the violent terrorist attacks that occurred the day before.
Speaking at the county service, Congressman Pat Ryan (D, NY-18) recalled being a student at the United States Military Academy at West Point on the day the terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people on American soil. He spoke of the heaviness of the silence that followed the attacks and the way the country came together afterward. Ryan pointed out that there is some unity among political parties in Congress with a bill he is working on with Republican Congressman Mike Lawler (R, NY-17) to make September 11 a national holiday. There is also bipartisan support to keep the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund readily available and fully funded for years to come.
A new “9/11 Never Forget” flag was unveiled by Colonel Glenn Marchi who announced that the flag would be hoisted above the Dutchess County Veterans One Stop Center on Route 44 in Pleasant Valley. The colonel was assisted by Dutchess County Veterans Services Director Adam Roche, County Executive Bill O’Neil, Congressman Pat Ryan, and Judge MacKenzie.
The MJN Convention Center had a somber reminder and call for unity on the marquis Monday that read, “It’s not just the tragedy of September 11, 2001, that we must remember, but the feeling of unity that we felt on September 12, 2001.”
The City of Poughkeepsie memorial took place in front of City Hall with a monument of twisted steel recovered from the World Trade Center as the backdrop, protected by the Poughkeepsie Fire Department Color Guard. After remarks from Mayor Marc Nelson and Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson, Senator Rob Rolison gave the keynote…
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