Through means that I won't go into, yesterday I had the privilege to attend the services commemorating the 10 Year Anniversary of the crash of TWA Flight 800 at Smith Point Park in Shirley, NY. It was a taxing day, both emotionally and physically. Like every other place on the East Coast, Long Island was under a massive heat wave and being outside for most of the afternoon was none to pleasant.

To be honest I don't remember much about the crash of TWA Flight 800. I was in college and pretty much cocooned from the world when it happened. Later that summer I travelled to NYC to do my internship at Epic Records and I do remember the crash being a common topic of conversation, especially since one of the people I interned for lived on Long Island near the crash site. But other than that, it didn't really register with me.

All that changed yesterday. Seeing the families of the victims, the former TWA employees and the first responders all remembering that fateful day and learning about how they've coped in the time since then was enough to bring tears to anyone's eyes. Governor Pataki gave a nice speech as did a few others, but the best speech was made by the Coast Guard Captain (whose name I forget) when he talked about the recovery efforts by his men. He said he had a plaque in his office that says "The Coast Guard, We Make Heroes Everyday" but that after dealing with the families that went through this terrible ordeal it had new meaning for him. He came very close to breaking down in tears while he spoke and he got the biggest round of applause out of everyone when he was done speaking.

The people in charge of the memorial used yesterday as the occasion to unveil the newest part of the memorial, a sculpture called "The Light." It's an abstract take on a lighthouse that represents a beacon for everyone that lost their life in the tragedy to use to find their way home. It, like the rest of the memorial was very well done.

I took a bunch of pictures yesterday during the events, but I was a bit torn about doing it. I wanted to document what I saw and experienced but didn't want to intrude on anyone during their special day. I was but a spectator, not that much different from the press hordes covering the event. So I tired not to intrude too much.

You can see all my photos from yesterday over at Flickr. Much like they did 10 years ago, Newsday has comprehensive coverage that is so thorough it can keep you busy for hours on end. Their photos from yesterday are better than mine. They also have reports on yesterday's ceremonies and the victim's families. A fun fact I found out yesterday is that the crash of Flight 800 back in 1996 was the first time the Newsday website was ever updated with breaking news. Back then I guess they just used the site to post PDF's of the paper. It's crazy to think how young the internet actually is. But I digress...