REMEMBRANCE · TOWN OF BABYLON

They belong to Town of Babylon residents who were at the World Trade Center and did not die that day. They died later, of the illnesses they got there.

The Town unveiled the memorial at its September 11 commemoration, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the attacks.

It sits just beyond the Town’s existing 9/11 memorial, the one with the metal plaques honoring the 48 residents killed in the attacks. Marble replicas of the Twin Towers flank the new stone, carrying two lines: Never Forget, and Sept. 11, 2001.

The inscription reads: “In solemn remembrance of all Town of Babylon residents who succumbed to illness as a result of their courageous rescue efforts at the World Trade Center. Their sacrifices will never be forgotten.”

Some towns and fire departments have added post-9/11 illness deaths to their existing memorials. Babylon’s is believed to be one of the first on Long Island built for those residents alone.

Thomas Wischerth is one of the fourteen. He was a federal investigator. He died of 9/11-related colon cancer in 2017, at 62.

“My dad was a humble person who would never want that kind of recognition,” his daughter Rhyan Wischerth said. “Just the fact that the town is acknowledging that these guys ultimately sacrificed their lives means a lot.”

Councilman Terence McSweeney put the reasoning plainly.

“They were every much a part of that day as the people who passed away actually on that day,” he said. “It’s important for the families to know their loved ones will be recognized.”

A name qualifies for the stone if the person was a Town of Babylon resident at some point, was at or near Ground Zero, and died as a result of what they were exposed to there. McSweeney was deliberate about how wide that is.

“It doesn’t matter if you were a first responder, if you were installing cable wire, if you were a plumber,” he said. “You were there getting New York, getting the United States back together after the greatest terror attack on this country since Pearl Harbor.”

The Town of Babylon Fire Chiefs Association drove the effort. It cost roughly $100,000, paid out of the Town’s capital improvements budget.

The memorial stands between Overlook and Cedar beaches, and it is open to anyone who wants to visit it.

Sources: Newsday · Town of Babylon