Community Remembers Loved Ones Lost on 9/11

When the community learned that Wyckoff native and New York City firefighter Dana Rey Hannon had been among the thousands to die while bravely responding to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, his local brethren "all wanted to do something... but didn't know what to do," said Wyckoff firefighter Doug Christie.

Amid the confusion and sadness in the period that followed, as communities throughout the entire region began to accept that many of their heroes would not come home, the decision was made to honor Hannon's sacrifice in perpetuity with a memorial at Company One. 

Nine years later, the community still gathers to remember Hannon and the 10 other Wyckoff residents who died on that tragic day. Although almost a decade has passed, the passage of time can't erase the pain clearly felt by a community which mourns their needless deaths.

On Saturday, firefighters, police officers, township officials and residents gathered at the firehouse to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks. Speakers remembered those lost, with family members paying tribute to their fallen loved ones by helping to read their names as the firehouse bells tolled. 

While a somber affair, the vast majority stayed to enjoy a potluck dinner, sharing stories and easing their grief with the help of friends and neighbors.

Hannon was remembered by the Rev. George Hanssen of Advent Lutheran Church, who had been the firefighter's pastor, as well as Christie, who also chairs Wyckoff's zoning Board of Adjustment.

"I thought a lot about Dana today," said Christie, who reminisced about the show of support in the days after Sept. 11. "The garage bays were filled with items. The outpouring from the community at large was tremendous."

Christie said that the way communities came together made him "proud to be an American.

"We live in a truly great nation." 

Hannon was a 29-year-old member of FDNY's Engine Company 26 when he responded to Tower One that fateful day. Engaged to be married in 2002, Hannon was remembered as a committed firefighter who always longed to serve.

Residents honored his service with the placement of flowers atop his memorial, located just off the garage bays at Company One, before breaking for a community dinner.

The memorial reads as follows:

"I never dreamed it would be me

My name for all eternity

Recorded here at this hallowed place

Alas, my name, no more my face

In the line of duty I hear them say

My family now the price to pay

My folded flag stained with their tears

We only had those few short years

The badge no longer on my chest

I sleep now in eternal rest

My sword I pass to those behind

and pray they keep this thought in mind

I never dreamed it would be me

and with heavy heart and bended knee

I ask for all here from the past

Dear God, let my name be the last."

The Wyckoff residents who lost their lives on 9/11 are:

• David Brady
• Thomas Bowden
• Dana Rey Hannon
• Alan K. Jensen
• Shari A. Kandell
• Thomas Kelly
• Sara Elizabeth Manley
• Scott M. McGovern
• Craig A. Silverstein
• Richard J. Todisco
• Roy M. Wallace