Syracuse (WSYR-TV) -- On the eve of the 11th anniversary of 9/11, the city of Syracuse is getting set to remember the victims, but a monument in Eastwood isn’t included in its plans. Some former first responders are looking to change that.
More than 400 names of police officers, firefighters and EMS workers who died at Ground Zero are etched on a monument at Sheridan Park, behind Fire Station 17.
“They fully expected to go to work that morning and to come home to their family at night and that didn’t happen,” said former Syracuse Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Laun.
At the top of the monument, in bold letters, it reads: “Let them not be forgotten.” But some say the city has.
Dedicated in 2006, a small ceremony has been held there every September 11, but it isn’t part of the city’s overall agenda this year.
“It’s our job to make sure that this event is included in all the other services on 9/11,” said Syracuse Firefighters Union President Lonnie Johnson.
The Firefighters Union is now working with the city to make it happen in the future.
“It’s difficult to get the message out sometimes; how important it is to us. It may not be that important to everybody, but we just want everybody to know that we’re here for them. We’re not going to forget these people and we don’t want the community to forget these people,” Laun told NewsChannel 9.
Tuesday’s ceremony will be a simple one. A Syracuse firefighter and police officer will lay a wreath made of carnations at the base of the monument, give it a proper salute and walk away. There will be no speeches, and in this case, silence will speak volumes.
“It would be a somber remembrance. That's the way these people would like to be remembered,” Laun said.
The ceremony will be held at the Sheridan Park monument and will begin at 10 a.m., following the city’s 9/11 Memorial at Firefighters Park which begins at 8:30 a.m.
