CT commemorates 9/11 attacks, a day of memory and now reflection for a victim’s cousin

Lisa Coleman sometimes wishes she could have done something — anything — to prevent her cousin’s death on Sept. 11, 2001.

“Please don't go to work today, just don't go to work today. I wish I had that ability to know the future, but I don't have that ability, and it happened,” Coleman said.

Coleman’s cousin, Dianne Snyder, is one of the 161 victims of the terror attacks with Connecticut ties, honored Thursday at the state’s annual 9/11 memorial ceremony at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport.

Attendees say the commemoration is necessary so this tragic piece of American history is never forgotten. They say it is much larger than one of the most traumatic experiences of their lives.

Snyder was an airline attendant on American Airlines Flight 11. It was the first plane hijacked on 9/11 and crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center.

Coleman, remembering her cousin as a source of love and warmth, talks about her in the present tense.

“When I think of her, I just love her so much,” Coleman said. “Whenever I see her smile and face, I have to smile myself, because I love you.”

She has more reasons to smile. Her grandson was born on the same day.

Coleman attended the ceremony, alongside state officials such as Gov. Ned Lamont and U.S. Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal.

A retired Navy serviceman played taps at the memorial and the crowd rose for the National Anthem, as an attendee looked on, holding a flag printed with the names of all the victims who were killed that day.

Rabbi Michael Friedman of the Temple Israel in Westport said attendees are not mourning anymore. They remember — as the event, now nearly 23 years ago, is also seen as something to be read about, rather than remembered.

Friedman said people should also remember the past not only for providing lessons, but serving as a bridge towards a better future.

“We carry the past with us,” Friedman said. “We have no do-overs in life and yet we carry memory and we carry strength and courage forward and that inspires us each day.”