New Canaan Remembers 9/11

On Wednesday, the nation took the time to remember the tragedy of September 11, 2001, on the 12th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and New Canaan held its own ceremony that morning. 

"I was thinking yesterday about 12 years ago, and people say time heals all wounds," said First Selectman Robert Mallozzi III. "But I don't think this wound will ever quite heal."

Wednesday was heralded by a return to Summer temperatures reaching into the high 80s by early morning, and Mallozzi recalled how beautiful that morning drive to work was 12 years ago. 

"[I] just still cant get through my brain and my head, the juxtaposition of that beautiful ride to work that day and the terror that unfolded," he said. "I think ceremonies like this go a long way to help us heal and help us move on. And I'm absolutely comforted when I look out and see the men and women in uniform—EMS, police, fire—and know that what you do everyday, every day, honors the memory of all those lives lost...and that does bring me and, I hope, the rest of the community and our nation, a great degree of comfort."

New Canaan lost three residents in the attacks on September 11. Joseph Coppo, 47, Bradley Fetchet, 24, and Eamon McEneaney, 46. They were remembered by name during the ceremony, as was U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Todd James "TJ" Lobraico, son of Stamford Police Officer Todd Lobraico. 

A theme of the day was recalling exactly what one was doing at the time they learned of the attacks, a way of remembering the impact the events of September 11, 2001, had on lives and the way each life changed dramatically from prior to the attacks. 

"A lot of guys working now were working on that day," said Fire Chief Jack Hennessey. "We were all watching it on television. It was an emotional day."

A unit carried a memorial wreath during the ceremony from the Vine Cottage, across the street and placed it in front of the New Canaan Fire House before the 9/11 memorial that stands there. 

The memorial is made up of a piece of twisted steel from one of the towers, sitting upon a base in the shape of the pentagon. In the soil beneath where the memorial rests now, dirt from Shanksville, Pa., is mixed in. 

"It's our way of remembering everyone from that day," Hennessey said. 

Interim Police Chief Leon Krolikowski also took time to recall his day. Krolikowski went to Ground Zero with Sgt. Louis Gannon and did what he could to help at the scene. he called the experience "eerie, like being in a war zone."

"My son was 6 months old and I was feeding him while watching TV when the first plane hit," he said. "That afternoon, Sgt. Gannon and I went to ground zero for a day or so. it's a very real, clear memory still, 12 years later. There was a lot of confusion. It was something no one expected. It's another example of unexpected things things that you just can't appreciate."