RCC Honors Sept. 11 Victims

Rockland Community College unveiled a stone inscription of Out of the Blue by Rockland County Poet Laureate Dan Masterson, as part of its  Sept. 11 Memorial Service in the college's Memorial Garden Wednesday morning.

Masterson, also RCC's Poet-in-Residence, read his poem, which describes the perspective of a former fighter pilot on his final day and in his final moments before losing his life in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.  

RCC President Dr. Cliff L. Wood spoke of Masterson's request to bury items as the new plaque was placed in the ground.

"He brought a lovely box with a picture of his father, who was a decorated soldier in World War I, and his father's Purple Heart," Wood said. "For Dan, that was very important and very personal and special. The message for us here today, it is part of our responsibility as citizens of this great country. You can never forget your history. If you forget your history, you make the same mistakes over and over. What we also know is that we have to remember those people and honor those people we love and care about. These people (we remember) today, who were innocent victims, we need to remember them for them and we need to remember them for ourselves and wha they mean to us."

RCC student veterans then took turns reading the names of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks with ties to Rockland County. 

"September 11 will forever be etched in the consciousness of all Americans and caring people everywhere, and all who work or reside in Rockland County," Wood said. "It is a day when we we remember the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack on America. It is a day when we remember our vulnerability, when we reflect with gratitude on all the privileges and opportunities given to us as citizens of this great land. It is a day when we come together, despite any cultural or political differences we may have, and honor the memories and spirit of those who we lost that fateful morning in 2001. Workers. Students. Heroes and victims. Innocents all. We mourn their loss and we mourn our loss of them."