Community Corner

Yorktown First Responders: Memories of 9/11 Terrorist Attacks Still Painful

The 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will be marked in towns across the country. The town of Yorktown will hold its memorial ceremony at the Shrub Oak Memorial Plaza today at 5 p.m. 

The Yorktown residents who died in the attacks and whose names are inscribed in the memorial are:

  • Danahy, Patrick William - 35 - Yorktown Heights
  • Dedvukaj, Simon - 26 - Mohegan Lake, NY
  • Friedlander, Alan Wayne - 52 - Yorktown Heights, NY
  • Fiori, Paul - 31 - Yorktown Heights, NY
  • McKeon, Barry J. - 47 - Yorktown Heights, NY
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Yorktown-Somers Patch has written a number of articles reflecting how local residents were impacted by the tragic events. Click on each headline below to read more in each article. 

Yorktown Volunteer Ambulance Corps Members Remember 9/11 Clean Up Efforts

  • Robert Flavin and Henry Lang, of YVAC, recall the relief efforts at Ground Zero. Two weeks after the attacks, Lang and several other YVAC members, including Jeff Siegel and Colleen Marigliano, went to Ground Zero to help out during the clean up efforts and relief emergency personnel who had been "exhausted" by then. Robert Flavin, also a member of YVAC, who was there for the relief efforts, finds it difficult to talk about 9/11. He was at work when her heard that a plane had struck. Click here for the full article. 

Local Firefighter Reflects on Helping at Ground Zero

  • George Keesler, of the Lake Mohegan Fire Department, was at work when one of his co-workers told him a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. Keesler said he still remembers the events of 9/11 as if it was yesterday. On Sept. 13, 2001, he headed down to Ground Zero to help in any way they could. He remembers the look, the smell, the noise, and everything around him. Click here for the full article.

A Decade Later: The Memories of 9/11 Still Painful

  • For many people the events are so vivid in their minds that it feels like it was just yesterday. Yorktown Police Lt. Kevin Soravilla was working a night shift the day before, he said. He got home and went to bed. But in the morning, he was awoken to the horrific images that were displayed on his TV. Lt. Soravilla said there was no question it was a terrorist attack and he would do anything to help. He and nine other police officers from the department got together and in three patrol cars headed down to help. Click here for the full article.

PHOTOS: 9/11 Through the Eyes of a Local Firefighter

  • A local firefighter for the Lake Mohegan Fire Department who was at Ground Zero as a first responder following the events of 9/11 took a number of photos and shared them with Patch.Click here for the photo gallery.


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