Faculty, staff, administrators and some students gathered at Lehman College to memorialize the nearly 3,000 people who were killed in the terrorist attacks 24 years ago on Sept. 11, 2001.
The annual ceremony also honored four former Lehman students who were killed in the attacks.
Stephen E. Belson, 51, who graduated in the class of ‘73 with a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education, was a New York City Firefighter with over 20 years of service, according to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. An avid swimmer, surfer and lifeguard in Rockaway, where he made his home following graduation, a portion of the beach was renamed “Bell’s Beach” honoring him in 2004, following his death. Belson reportedly died attempting to rescue people trapped in the World Trade Center.
Police Officer John D’Allara, 47, grew up in the Bronx. He went to Columbus Highschool where he was active in sports and then graduated from Lehman with a Bachelor’s in Physical Education in ‘78 before becoming a teacher until 1983 when he entered the NYPD. D’Allara served on the force for 18 years duringwhich he went back to Lehman to obtain a Master’s of Science. D’Allara’s unit was among the first to arrive on the scene of the attacks and he died trying to help people get out of the buildings on September 11
Alan Jay Richman, 44, of Riverdale was known for being absolutely devoted to his family. He graduated from Lehman in 1978 and went on to become Vice President of Employee Benefits at the risk management Marsh & McLennan. Richman He spent his life caring for his mother, father, sister and niece—always being a rock for those around him. Richman’s firm, Marsh & McLennan, occupied most of the upper floors of the North Tower, directly in the path of American Airlines Flight 11 which was the first plane to crash into the World Trade Center. Tragically, according to Marsh & McLennan, all their employees in the North Tower were killed.
Yvette Nicole Moreno, 24, was a senior who had recently transferred to Lehman College from Hunter to pursue a degree in Sociology and eventually become a guidance counselor. The hard-working Bronx native went to school full-time and had recently been promoted to a permanent full-time position as a receptionist at the brokerage firm Carr Futures, Inc. on the 92 floor of the North Tower. Moreno had recently bought her first car, a Mitsubishi, according to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. After the first plane hit the North Tower, Moreno called her mother to say she was coming home, but was killed when she was hit by falling debris from the South Tower.
The mood was solemn as trumpeter Eganam Segbefia sounded out “Taps,” followed by a commemorative bell tolling. The mournful farewells were a reminder of the heaviness that so many Americans- especially New Yorkers still carry nearly a quarter of a century later.
