by Kevin McLaughlin
The morning of September 11, 2021, marked the 20-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D. C. and United Airlines Flight 93 in Shankesville, Penn. Two Irvington residents died on the tragic day — Soichi Numata and Robert Speisman.
In honor of this day, Irvington held a ceremony at Scenic Hudson Park (with NYC in sight from a far) at 8:30am, almost the same time the attacks began 20 years ago. During the ceremony, multiple important individuals in the Irvington community spoke, including Mayor Brian Smith, longtime firefighter Kevin Gallagher, and three religious leaders from our churches.
Mayor Brian Smith began the ceremony by saying, “September 11th, 2001, I will never forget. That date, September 11th, and the numbers nine [and] 11, always make me pause. Nine-eleven a.m., 9:11 p.m., everyday, make me remember, make me think, make me pause. Pause to remember again, pause to breathe, pause to remember the sacrifices, helplessness, anger, sadness.”
Although Mayor Smith did discuss a lot about the sadness of that day, he also mentioned how our nation was unified as one after it in hope, patriotism, and the desire to help one another.
Kevin Gallagher, a firefighter for the past 26 years, put his life on the line in order to save others on the morning of 9/11. He shared his emotional story of being a first responder on the site. One specific story he shared was about a woman who was walking through the debris with a piece of glass stuck in her head. Gallagher said he took the woman, and walked her to an ambulance since she was incapable of seeing anything because of the dust.
Seventeen years later, he was re-introduced to the woman who said, “I already know who Kevin is. He’s my guardian angel.”
Religious leaders from Immaculate Conception Church, Saint Barnabas Church, and Irvington Presbyterian Church all helped set up the memorial wreath which faces New York City.
