Twenty-five years after the attacks of September 11, 2001, Southampton Town is again pausing to remember the lives lost, the first responders who answered the call and the generations that continue to carry the weight of that day.
Earlier this week, staff from the Southampton Town Department of Public Safety and Emergency Management placed 343 flags on the lawn outside its Hampton Bays facility, one for each FDNY firefighter killed in the attack on the World Trade Center.
The Town said the display is intended to honor not only the firefighters who died that morning, but also the law-enforcement officers, civilians and others whose lives were lost or forever changed.
Southampton officials noted that 63 law-enforcement officers and thousands of civilians were among those killed in the attacks, while many more people have since died or suffered from illnesses linked to exposure at Ground Zero and related sites.
Across Southampton Town and the surrounding region, fire departments are also expected to sound horns and sirens at key moments between 8:46 a.m. and 10:28 a.m., marking the times associated with the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, the crash of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the collapse of the Twin Towers.
The anniversary carries particular weight on Long Island, where many families lost loved ones on September 11 and where thousands of police officers, firefighters, construction workers and other responders participated in the rescue, recovery and cleanup.
Suffolk County is also holding a commemorative ceremony Friday at noon, led by County Executive Ed Romaine, that will include a reading of the names of Suffolk County residents who were lost.
For many residents, the 25th anniversary is not simply a historical milestone.
It is a reminder of neighbors who never came home, first responders who ran toward danger, families who endured unimaginable loss and communities that came together in the days and months that followed.
In Southampton, the 343 flags now standing in Hampton Bays offer a simple but powerful image of remembrance.
Each represents a firefighter.
Together, they represent something larger: sacrifice, service and a promise that the names and stories of those lost will not be forgotten.