'This will be there forever.' 50 names added to LI Island 9/11 memorial ahead of 25th anniversary
On Monday, five names were added to the front. Those are names of Long Islanders who died the day of the attacks.
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Fifty names were added Monday to the 9/11 memorial in Westbury.
The Catholic Cemeteries of Long Island's 9/11 Memorial continues to grow each year. The memorial is at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood off of Old Country Road.
On Monday, five names were added to the front. Those are names of Long Islanders who died the day of the attacks. Forty-five more names were added to the back, which include the names of people who died of related illnesses in the years that followed.
Today, Eva Cole, of Wantagh watched her husband's name be engraved into the memorial.
"I'm going to be spending time here," says Cole. "It's bittersweet. I miss him so much every day."
Cole watched as workers stenciled, sandblasted and then unpeeled the stencil, revealing her husband's name, Charles Cole, who was a Nassau County police officer.
"He died from 9/11 brain cancer," says Cole. "I just had tears in my eyes that his name is going to be up there forever."
"There are lots of tributes across Long Island in particular, to that day. I think a cemetery is unique. A cemetery is truly remembering the passing on of a loved one," says John F. Kennedy, with Catholic Cemeteries of Long Island.
The memorial now has 640 names on it.
"Long Island was so impacted by that and continues to be and it is a place where lots of people, whether directly impacted or just to remembering the day can come," says Kennedy.
Cole says having her husband's name on the memorial means a lot to her and her family and that his service and sacrifice will always be remembered.
"This will be there forever. Permanent reminder for all of us," she says.
