On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 , firefighter Steve Marsar was enjoying the first day of a scheduled vacation.

Estefani Garcia wouldn't be born for another four years.

But on Thursday, Garcia at Roosevelt High School and Marsar at Point Lookout, both had vivid thoughts and memories, if not firsthand for Garcia, of 24 years ago.

It was then much like Thursday's mild, late-summer morning, Marsar recalled to a crowd of hundreds gathered on the beach under a morning sun for Hempstead's annual remembrance ceremony. Marsar, a recently retired FDNY chief, described how department radios blared with alerts after the planes hit the Twin Towers.

WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND

Whether at the shore, schools or evening ceremonies, Long Islanders gathered together to remember Sept. 11, 2001.

At Roosevelt

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