Schools

9/11 Memorial Service a Somber Occasion for Iona College

Iona held a memorial ceremony to honor the 15 Iona Alumni who died during the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center 10 years ago.

The Murphy Auditorium at has seen many events marking joyous occasions over the years, but Friday afternoon, the focus was on the 15 Iona alumni who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, as their family and friends gathered to mark yet another year of their passing.

The memorial service featured a 30-minute video tribute, produced in 2002, featuring the individual life stories of all 15 alumni who died 10 years ago, five of whom were members of the New York City Fire Department.

As the lights came back on after the touching video tribute, a procession commenced out of the auditorium and across the street to the 9/11 Memorial Garden, where all of the victims names are engraved on a plaque. That was where loved ones could take comfort once again in the company of others who had experienced similar grief.

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“I have seen tears in many students’ eyes this week,” said Dr. Joseph Nyre, Iona's president. “I hope this day for our current students brings together the nexus of faith, grief and intellectual dialogue in understanding an event that took place when they were just children.”

Dr. Carl Procario-Foley also spoke to the audience. “Our loved ones who are lost, may their memory be a blessing to us,” he said.

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Members of eight families who lost a loved one on 9/11 were present during the memorial service. It could easily be discerned that, despite the passing of time, the emotional scars left in the wake of the attacks are still very much on the surface.

With both men and women weeping silently, the video tribute that was shown served as a haunting and poetic reminder of lives that were cut short and opened a small window into the individual lives of the people who were lost that fateful morning.

Iona Alumnus shares his unique experience of 9/11

Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Robert Darling, an Iona alumnus of the class of 1987, shared his book 24 Hours Inside the President’s Bunker, with audience members Friday in the Romita Auditorium for a discussion on his own unique experience during 9/11.

Darling gave readers an eyewitness account of the important role he served as liaison between Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Advisory Condoleezza Rice and the Pentagon during the attacks. He spent a 24-hour period inside the presidential bunker during the day's chaos.

“Writing the book was therapeutic,” Darling said, “and as I saw how more and more people appreciated hearing my account of the days events, and what was going on from a government perspective, it really prompted me to write my account down so that others can learn, my kids can learn and to have the historic record.”

Published in 2010, the book shares his experience playing an incredible role as he and other government officials attempted to respond to the crisis. Darling said that in 2011 we are much better prepared to handle whatever may come our way.

“Across the board, from homeland security to local agencies, there is much greater communication and vigilance, but with that has also come a different world that our children now live in,” he said.

For more information on Darling’s book 24 Hours Inside the President’s Bunker, go to Amazon.com or Darling’s Web site.


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