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In his opening remarks, Mayor Harry Rilling said that Sept. 11 was a terrible day, but it also brought out the best in the country's citizens.
“It unified us as a country and showed our charitable instincts, and reminded us what we stand for and what we continue to stand for,” Rilling said. “Sept. 11 revealed heroism in ordinary people who might have gone through their lives, never called upon to demonstrate the extent of their courage. Those at Ground Zero, Shanksville, Penn. and Washington, D.C., left a strong legacy in the middle of tragedy.”
The ceremony also included the posting of colors by the Norwalk Fire Department and Police Department Joint Honor Guard, an invocation by Pastor Artie Kassimis of the World Alive Bible Church and a benediction by the Rev. Carleton Giles, chaplain of the Police Department. Detective Kristina Lapak and David Harris performed several musical numbers, including the National Anthem, “The Prayer” and “God Bless America.”
Members of the Common Council read the names and paid tribute to the 14 Norwalk residents who lost their lives in the Sept. 11 attacks: Paul Dario Curioli, Ronald Gilligan, Edwin John Graf III, William C. Hunt, Thomas E. Hynes, Adam J. Lewis, Edward Francis “Teddy” Maloney III, Cesar A. Murillo, Robert Walter Noonan, James Matthew Patrick, George E. Spencer III, Derek James Statkevicus, Bradley H. Vadas, and John Bentley Works.
Kathryn Hebert paid tribute to her brother, Adam Lewis, and reflected on the impact that the events of Sept. 11 had on the world.
“It is my hope, and I know my brother’s hope, that we can channel any anger, any negativity into helping each other and working together, and that the good in all of us is greater than the evil in a few,” she said.
“Thank you for your admiration, for all the heroes of 9/11 and all the ordinary heroes like my brother Adam Lewis, a man whose importance to his family and his friends will not be documented in any history books, but will forever recorded in our hearts.”
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