A 9/11 Memorial Van Gets Its First Public Look in Hauppauge
A new memorial vehicle honoring NYPD detectives lost to the September 11 attacks and the illnesses that followed was shown to the public this past Friday, parked at the local fire department building on Wisheart Road. The van carries painted images of Detective Joseph Vigiano and Detective Claude Richards, the two detectives killed at the World Trade Center, along with the union crest, a flag, a rendering of the city skyline, and a pair of light beams standing in for the fallen towers. Below all that, the names of 79 more detectives who died later from World Trade Center related illness are listed on the wrap.
The project came together over months, with mechanical work needed for the van's unusual rear engine setup along with the custom paint job. It was pushed forward by NYPD Detectives' Endowment Association president Scott Munro, who grew up in Hauppauge and spent years around the same fire department before his union duties pulled him away from that role. The van heads into the city on September 8 to carry a wreath to Ground Zero, then comes back to Hauppauge for the fire department's own 9/11 ceremony.
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Hauppauge keeps its own quiet ways of remembering. If you are curious what else sits near that stretch of Wisheart Road, our town guides are a good place to start at /towns/.