9/11 responders show solidarity on LI with victims of Paris, Mali attacks

Responders to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and other Long Islanders rallied Sunday in Nesconset to show solidarity with those in Paris and other sites attacked by terrorists.

"La Marseillaise," the French national anthem, followed "The Star Spangled Banner" as 75 community members watched at the 9/11 Responders Remembered Memorial -- three black stone walls etched with the names of 9/11 responders who have lost their lives.

Dr. Benjamin Luft, director of the Stony Brook World Trade Center Wellness Program, organized the event in the wake of the Nov. 13 Paris attacks, which left 130 dead. Speakers also mentioned the Mali terrorist attack, where 19 people were killed Friday.

Luft, who leads the project tracking the health of 8,500 responders, as well as an oral history project with more than 500 hours of interviews, said knowing they weren't alone helped survivors.

"They were comforted by the camaraderie of fellow responders and the embrace of people around the world," Luft said. Victims of terrorism in Paris are hurting, he said. "It's a dark, chaotic abyss. This is what anchors them -- their fellow man. I thought, what better way to anchor them than people who have been through it."

Glen Klein, 57, of Centereach, was a first responder to the World Trade Center with the NYPD emergency services unit. He said watching the terrorist attacks in Paris brings him back.

"It makes me mad that more innocent lives are snuffed out," he said. "You know people are going to feel the way we felt after 9/11. It will change the whole way they feel."

The ceremony was also attended by Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, county Comptroller John M. Kennedy Jr., Legis. Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset) and Assemb. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-St. James).

Bellone said: "We stand here together in solidarity, remembering people we do not know. They are us. We are them. We stand together with people of Paris and France. We stand together in solidarity."

John Feal, 49, another 9/11 responder and organizer of the event, said, "We will not live our lives in fear." He said he typically never celebrated his birthday, which is Nov. 13. Now, he plans to celebrate it, to honor those who died in the French attacks.

Luft closed his remarks by saying, "Vive la France, God bless America and long live freedom-loving people."

By David M. Schwartz

dschwar1@newsday.comschwartznewsNY

David Schwartz covers environmental issues. A native Long Islander, he's worked at Newsday since 2013.