Gathered under a sunny, blue sky much like the one on September 11, 2001, the Iona community came together to remember and pray for the 15 Iona alumni who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center as well as four who died subsequently due to related illnesses.
New Rochelle Police Commissioner Robert Gazzola ’99 offered special reflections as the ceremony’s keynote speaker. At the time, Gazzola was a lieutenant and special operations commander. He immediately began assembling his team along with others. They were assigned to what would become known as Ground Zero to assist with the recovery efforts.
“To get to the site, we had to walk along city streets that were covered in debris and ash. It was a very surreal experience, walking past crushed fire engines and ambulances, seeing the landing gear of an airplane on the sidewalk, papers from offices continued to blow around,” he recalled. “The sight was haunting; the scale was much bigger than what you saw on television.”
Photo: New Rochelle Police Commissioner Robert Gazzola ’99 speaks at Iona’s 9/11 prayer ceremony.
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