Nearly 3,000 flags mark the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11

STANFORD — Nearly 3,000 flags covered the hillside at Stanford Recreation Park as hundreds of people gathered for the town’s annual ceremony honoring those killed in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Residents from across the region attended the ceremony, along with veterans groups and fire and rescue crews from Stanford, Millbrook, Amenia, Pine Plains and West Clinton.

Ribbons lining the park’s fence bore the names of the victims, handwritten by Pine Plains students from Seymour Smith Intermediate Learning Center and Stissing Mountain Junior/Senior High School.

Bagpipers opened the ceremony shortly before 7 p.m., followed by welcoming remarks from Stanford Fire Company President Evelyn Seipp. The Pledge of Allegiance and the national anthem, sung by Rosalee Cade, followed.

Stanford Town Supervisor Julia Descoteaux and Dutchess County Legislator Chris Drago spoke about the importance of honoring those who died and the sacrifices made by first responders.

“I remember the shock and the sorrow, but I also remember what came next,” Descoteaux said. “I remember people coming together, strangers helping strangers, and first responders running toward danger while others were running away.

“The ribbons and flags surrounding us tonight were placed here one at a time, by neighbors working alongside neighbors. In its own small way, this is what remembrance looks like.”

Drago was in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001.

“I’ll never forget how quiet people became as we processed what was happening,” he said in his remarks. “But New York came together. We helped one another. We cried on each other’s shoulders.”

“We cleaned up, and we remember,” he continued. “Forty volunteers came out in the rain last week and hung these ribbons. That’s Stanford … neighbors showing up so we can have this moment of community together.”

Students from the Pine Plains Central School District shared essays about the continuing resonance of an event that occurred before they were born.

The display also paid tribute to Dennis Gilhooly, a Stanford Fire Company member and commissioner who served with the New York City Fire Department during the Sept. 11 attacks before moving to Stanford.

He was diagnosed in 2005 with cancer related to his service at the World Trade Center and died in 2019 at age 68.

Gilhooly’s firefighter jacket stood at the center of the hillside display, flanked by two columns of orange and red flags and held aloft on a flagpole. A placard detailing his contributions and displaying his obituary stood near the park entrance.

In the days immediately following the attacks, communities across the region organized relief efforts. Cub Scout packs in Millerton and Dover collected clothing for rescue workers in New York City, while store employees in Amenia gathered water and other supplies for the National Guard.

At the time, local organizer Susan Patnode described the response as something that “took on a life of its own,” with contributions arriving from towns throughout the Harlem Valley.

For residents of Stanford and surrounding communities, the flag memorial has become an annual reminder not only of the lives lost on Sept. 11, but also of how the region came together after the attacks.

As the sun set, the bagpipers gathered at the top of the hillside to play “God Bless America,” “Amazing Grace” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” Two searchlights illuminated the darkening sky in tribute to the twin towers.

Seipp closed the ceremony with a reminder of the importance of carrying its message forward.

“May we never forget the lesson that hope is stronger than fear…By your presence, you prove that. The greatest tribute we can offer is to carry that spirit.”

Firefighters and other uniformed first responders stand alongside flag bearers during Stanford’s ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Nearly 3,000 American flags covered the hillside at Stanford Recreation Park.Photo by Graham Corrigan