Memorial Service Honors Port Authority Employees Slain In Terror Attacks
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- On Sunday night at St. Peter's Church, just up the street from where the Twin Towers once stood, friends and family of Port Authority employees who died during the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks held tribute for the slain.
Christopher Lennon was just 10 years old when he lost his father, Port Authority Police Officer John J. Lennon.
"As time goes on, I thought it would get easier, but everything got a lot harder and just trying to deal with the pain and hope everything gets better," he told CBS 2's Ann Mercogliano.
LINK: 9/11 - 10 Years Later
As the 84 names of the fallen were read aloud, family members wept silently. Mourners were joined by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Gov. George Pataki, and other politicians as Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Cardinal Egan and other clergy members offered their condolences and prayers.
LISTEN: WCBS 880's Monica Miller reports
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It was an emotional day for survivors like Cathy Pavelec. She worked on the 67th floor of Tower One and came to honor her colleagues who never made it out.
"A person standing there survived and a person standing there was killed and that was at first, but now it's just so sad. It doesn't get any easier," the former Port Authority employee said.
Lennon lost his father, but not his pride in the late Lennon's work. He told Mercogliano he wants to follow in his footsteps, and become a Port Authority cop as well.
"I would like to be, would be my dream," he said.
The ceremony also honored the memories of Port Authority employees who were killed during the first World Trade Center attack, in 1993.
"When the World Trade Center was attacked in 1993, we lost six of our colleagues and one of their unborn children. In 2001, we lost 84 of our colleagues, including 37 Port Authority police officers," Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni told WCBS 880's Monica Miller.
Gene Fasulo, a retired deputy chief engineer, said he was trapped in an elevator after the 1993 bombing. He helped rebuild it before the terrorists destroyed it once again.
"It was a tremendous loss, not only for those of us who helped build the Port Authority and the World Trade Center, but it was a loss for the entire city," he told Miller.
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