For some, Sept. 11 is day to pause in remembrance, but for one father it is a day he can never forget.
For six years, Steven Cafiero Sr. has read his emotional epic detailing the events of 9/11 at The Waters Edge Lighthouse’s ceremony on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives. After 11 years of working on the poem, “9/11,” with minor additions and tweaks, Cafiero said it is now complete.
“It is a poem that was my therapy for many years,” Cafiero said after the reading and before an impromptu “God Bless America” was sung. Over all the years, he said it continued to be therapeutic to write.
Cafiero lost his son, Steven Cafiero Jr., on 9/11. His son was on the 92nd floor of the south tower and had just started working at a new job — it was only his twelfth day. Cafiero wore a black and white picture of his son on his jacket over his heart, which was actually his badge to enter ground zero for the first year following the attack.
His son was scheduled to come home and visit him only three days after the attack, on Sept. 14, 2001.
“He was so excited about his new job. He said ‘Can I come up this Labor Day Weekend?’” Cafiero said. “God works in mysterious ways.”
He said it is “necessary” to read his poem every year at the event. Every year, he would reflect on the poem and go through his collection of newspapers and magazines detailing the attack. He wanted to make sure nothing was left out, with his poem telling the story of the day.
“This helps spread the word, in some small way, that we shall prevail,” he said. “There is nothing more to say, it is there now. It took 11 years to write, right up to yesterday.”
This Sept. 11 was also even more difficult for Cafiero than usual, because he saw his doctor earlier in the day and was told he has to have an operation for a rare cancer.
Lawmakers invited to the ceremony also shared remarks and state Assemblyman James Tedisco, R-Glenville, said it is just as important today to remember what happened on 9/11.
“In America, when you attack us, you attack freedom and liberty and they wanted to destroy America,” Tedisco said. “They still want to destroy our way of life, but that news for them is they know in their hearts and their minds that they can hurt us, they can injure us, they can hurt us … but they can never destroy the efforts of the United States of America.”
State Assemblyman George Amedore, R-Rotterdam, said even as crowds dwindle at memorials it is important to continue recognizing 9/11 not only as a day to remember loss, but also the great gains from a nation united.
“I want thank all of you, all of you for coming out this afternoon,” Amedore said. “Ordinary people giving time on an extraordinary day; that is true patriotism.”
County Legislator Angelo Santabarbara, D-Rotterdam, said the tragic events have only strengthened the nation and increased commitment to American values.
“Caring for one another, overcoming adversity and respecting individual freedom are at the core of the American experience,” Santabarbara said. “From the daughter who cares for an elderly parent to those who rushed into burning towers on 9/11 — Americans care for one another.”
Cafiero said the annual ceremony is important because it embodies the meaning of four words: “We will never forget.”
