Patriotic Fervor Sweeps Forest Hills

Their lives forever changed by the terrorist attacks a year ago, dozens of candle-carrying Forest Hills residents turned out last week to show solidarity for the nearly 3,000 victims who died in the World Trade Center catastrophe. The moving ceremony in front of American Legion Post 1424 typified dozens of observations attended by public officials and residents around the borough.
One of the victims was no stranger to the participants in Forest Hills. He was 18-year-old Richard Pearlman of Howard Beach, a four-year veteran of the Forest Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps, who died after repeated trips into the WTC to rescue workers caught in the building. The teenager was killed when the tower collapsed.
His mother, Dori, of Elmhurst, told The Queens Courier, "I lost a child who never had a chance to live out a promising life. He was a dedicated and determined individual who showed real courage at ground zero."
Pearlmans supervisor at the Ambulance Corps, David Solomon of Elmhurst, said Richard wanted to be an emergency medical technician (EMT) but never achieved his ambition. He said that Richard was a hero and the Corps ambulance carries a tribute to him that reads "In Loving Memory of Richard Pearlman."
Last Sundays memorial service, sponsored by American Legion Post 1424 in Forest Hills, featured police and fire units in a bagpipe performance, a three-round volley fired by Legionnaires across Metropolitan Avenue and the playing of Taps for those lost in the World Trade Center.
City Councilwoman Melinda Katz of Forest Hills, who sang the National Anthem, said in a talk that "9/11 has changed our lives. We experienced real disbelief when the tragedy struck and then learned a newfound respect for our nation."
She said that our language has changed since 9/11 and "we find ourselves saying, Is everybody okay?"
Katz added that the area recently saluted a fallen firefighter, Christopher J. Pickford of Kew Gardens, and more than 200 area residents turned out for a street renaming ceremony.
Heidi Chain, who has been president of the 112 Precinct Community Council in Forest Hills, said that the harrowing events of a year ago left her with "deep respect for the police, fire and medical personnel who gave their lives on 9/11."
She said the community was grateful for the drop in crime in Forest Hills. Her police counterpart, Police Officer David Valovage, community relations staffer with the Precinct, agreed.
"We can always use more police," he said, "but we are fortunate that crime is down."
The Legion posts historian, Norbert Chwat, who doubles as director of the Forest Hills Action League, said that the "awful disaster caused me to be doubly patriotic up to and including a U.S. attack on Iraq."
The "host" for the observation, Post Commander Tom Winberry, told the crowd, many of them wearing T-shirts that were emblazoned with Proud to be an American, "we have suffered a great loss in this community and around the country and today we pay homage to our heroes."
Solomon of Elmhurst, who heads the Forest Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps, said that 9/11 "unexpectedly opened my eyes."
He said the Ambulance Corps has proven itself a vital community service and currently makes 1,000 calls a year from its base on Metropolitan Avenue.
Other observations in central Queens ranged from elaborate to simple. In one Kew Gardens co-op at 118-11 84th Avenue, tenants paid tribute to a firefighter who lived in their building. He was Timothy Matthew Welty who worked out of Squad 288 in Queens. He was remembered as an "artistic visionary" and a strong, wiry man who could do push-ups with two fingers, skied, sky-dived and played hockey and volleyball for the Fire Department.