Saratoga-Wilton ELKS’ PATRIOT DAY PARADE - MLK Saratoga was proud to march with so many of the wonderful local organizations and businesses that keep our communities vibrant and strong!

On Saturday, September 11, 2021, MLK Saratoga carried signs created by Kate Graney & Josie Khoury honoring 12 African American First Responders who lost their lives during 9/11, 20 years ago. Thank you to members of the League of Women Voters who walked with us — we are stronger together!!

9/11 PATRIOTS:
Honoring African American First Responders Who Lost Their Lives 20 Years Ago.

LeRoy Wilton Homer, Jr.

LeROY WILTON HOMER, Jr. grew up on Long Island in New York where as a child, he dreamed of flying, assembled model airplanes, collected aviation memorabilia, and read books on aviation. He was 15 years old when he started flight instruction in a Cessna 152. Working part-time jobs after school to pay for flying lessons, he completed his first solo trip at the age of 16 and obtained his private pilot's certificate in 1983.  Homer graduated attended Cyril and Methodius School in 1979 and St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School in 1983.

After graduation, he entered the United States Air Force Academy as a member of the class of 1987. As an upperclassman, he was a member of Cadet Squadron 31. He graduated in 1987 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. After completing his USAF pilot training in 1988, he was assigned to McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey, flying a Lockheed C-141 Starlifter.

He served in the Gulf War and later supported operations in Somalia.  He received many commendations, awards, and medals during his military career. In 1993, he was named the Twenty-First Air Force "Aircrew Instructor of the Year". Captain Homer was honorably discharge from active duty in 1995 and accepted a Reserve Commission in order to continue his career as an Air Force officer. Homer continued in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, initially as a C-141 instructor pilot with the 356th Airlift Squadron at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, then as an Academy Liaison Officer, recruiting potential candidates for both the Air Force Academy and the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps. During his time in the Air Force Reserve, he achieved the rank of major.

Gerard Jean Baptiste

At age 18‚ GERARD JEAN BAPTIST joined the National Guard; at 27‚ after attending the Military Academy in New Jersey‚ he became a Second Lieutenant in the Reserve and was stationed in Long Island and then in New York City at the 69th Military Infantry. At 30‚ he graduated from the Fire Academy and became a Firefighter.

Gerard loved sports. He was so very good at baseball‚ that his friends called him Reggy after the famous Reggy Jackson.

At age 18‚ Gerard joined the National Guard; at 27‚ after attending the Military Academy in New Jersey‚ he became a Second Lieutenant in the Reserve and was stationed in Long Island and then in New York City at the 69th Military Infantry. At 30‚ he graduated from the Fire Academy and became a Firefighter.

Gerard loved sports. He was so very good at baseball‚ that his friends called him Reggy after the famous Reggy Jackson.

At age 18‚ Gerard joined the National Guard; at 27‚ after attending the Military Academy in New Jersey‚ he became a Second Lieutenant in the Reserve and was stationed in Long Island and then in New York City at the 69th Military Infantry. At 30‚ he graduated from the Fire Academy and became a Firefighter.

Gerard loved sports. He was so very good at baseball‚ that his friends called him Reggy after the famous Reggy Jackson.

Gerard was an animal lover. He often carried treats with him to give to dogs that walked past his ladder 9 firehouse in Great Jones Street located in East Greenwich Village in New York City and strangely enough those dogs became to know Gerard and to look for him when he wasn’t around. That is why at the Firehouse‚ they called him ‘Biscuits’‚ because of the biscuits he carried in his pockets to treat his friends. When that catastrophe happened‚ the dog owners cried when they knew Gerard was missing.

Gerard adored kids‚ even though he didn’t have his own yet. He usually was the first to meet them when they visit the firehouse. He made himself joyfully available to respond to the many questions posed by kids about the Firehouse‚ the Fire trucks‚ the ‘rigs’‚ as they call them and all other equipment around.

I would appreciate‚ if possible‚ to put by his name: ‘Serving the people was his calling in life. He was happy as a soldier serving his country. He was also happy as a Firefighter serving his city.’

VERNON RICHARD

VERNON RICHARD was employed with Con Edison in the Bronx before being called to the New York City Fire Department in December 17‚ 1977‚ where he spent 16 years in the busy South Bronx section known as ‘Mott Haven.’ In 1994‚ he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. He was the first black appointed from that list‚ scoring a 95. He was assigned to Tower Ladder 7 at 234 E. 29th Street‚ New York‚ until the dreadful day of September 11‚ 2001.

On September 16‚ he was promoted to Captain on national TV. He was the third black appointed from that list. Vernon was a member of various organizations including: The Vulcan Society‚ the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters‚ and the Uniformed Fire Officers Association of New York City Fire Department. Vernon was also on the board of the Honor Emergency Fund. In early 2001‚ Vernon became involved with the Teamsters National Black Caucus.

In 1994 Vernon and his family joined First Baptist Church of Spring Valley‚ New York. He was ordained Deacon in June 1996. He joined the Male Choir. He was an advisor of the Community Youth Council group of the church. Vernon did a lot of community work with the youth. Vernon also did counseling and outspeaks with Alcoholics Anonymous in the New York Metropolitan and Rockland Areas. Vernon touched many lives.

Vernon loved his family and friends. His love‚ devotion and loyalty were evidenced by the use of his time‚ talent and treasure. His life was tribute to humanity; he let his good works speak for him. Vernon believed his family to be his foundation‚ and his wife and to children enhanced his life. He is definitely their ‘Hero.’

KARL JOSEPH

KARL JOSEPH was a "probie," a probationary firefighter, at Engine Company 207 in downtown Brooklyn after joining the department in October 2000. The senior guys played pranks on him ‹ a throwback to high school days ‹ but he took it well. "When you're a probie, you really can't respond back to the veterans," said Michael Beehler, a firefighter who went through the fire academy with Mr. Joseph and worked with him at 207.

"Karl had a way of shrugging off the ribbing. He had a great smile and a great laugh," Mr. Beehler said. "As far as the job, he was top-notch."

Mr. Joseph would have turned 26 on Nov. 5. He was a native of Haiti. His parents fled the chaotic country with their nine children to stake their claim in America, said Lucy Bouciquot, a family friend. "He liked Haiti," she said, "but America was his home."

TAREL COLEMAN

Firefighter TAREL COLEMAN's friends, co-workers and football teammates called him "Prozac." Not because he took the mood-balancing drug, but because sometimes he needed to calm down a little.

While many people have a childhood story involving matches, Firefighter Coleman's firebug past cost him some hair. At 5, he stuck his head into the incinerator in his family's apartment building in Queens. "We didn't notice anything," Firefighter Coleman's brother, John Coleman Jr. , also a firefighter, "until we got upstairs and saw that he had no eyebrows, no eyelashes and no hairline."

His chattiness and high-strung curiosity were viewed as charm by his friends. Whenever he prepared a lasagna dinner for his mother, Laurel Jackson, in her Jamaica, Queens, home, she would just watch her son patiently, with her head propped on her hand. "You couldn't stop him," she said. "You had to sit there and listen."

KEITH GLASCOE

KEITH GLASCOE was a big man — roughly 6-foot-4, 270 pounds — but maybe the biggest thing about him was his heart. "He was the sort who would stop and pick up a hurt animal in the street, take it to a doctor and pay for it," said his father, Benjamin Glascoe.

Given his size, football was inevitable. He started playing organized ball when he was 8 and twice made it to the New York Jets training camp. The second time, he was injured, but he played for a year in Italy, and learned to speak excellent Italian.

Back in New York, he caught the acting bug. Soon, there he was doing commercials and appearing on "One Life to Live," "Law and Order" and "100 Centre Street." He also had a part in the TV movie "Assault on Devil's Island," but the best of all was playing Benny in the movie "The Professional."

He married Veronica Squef, and he yearned for a more regular job. His kindly nature meshed perfectly with the Fire Department, and he joined Ladder Company 21. Naturally, he played on the department's football team.

Firefighter Glascoe, 38, lived in Brooklyn with his wife and their two children, Nolan, 3, and Owen, 15 months. Ms. Squef is expecting a third child in April.

WILLIAM L. HENRY, Jr.

WILLIAM L. HENRY, Jr., who was known as Bill or Buddy, had a galaxy of friends and admirers that stretched from the Ladder 24 firehouse on West 31st Street to the paddle tennis courts at wind-swept Jacob Riis Park in the Rockaways. He spent his vacations in places like Brazil, and his free time fixing up houses for people like his mother, Ethel. People would compliment his work; Mr. Henry tended to agree with them. "Yeah," he'd say, "it's a beautiful thing."

His competitive streak ran deep. "He would say to me, you know, I go to more fires than you do," said John Dopwell, a former colleague at Ladder 24, where Firefighter Henry was assigned before moving on to Rescue 1, also in Manhattan.

He also let all kinds of post-conflagration messiness build up on his coat and helmet, as a sign of how hard he worked. "Outside of his family, that job was what he lived for," said another friend, Paul Stewart.

For a while, he moonlighted as a security guard at Laura Belle, a nightclub in Times Square. "I was his boss, but in all honesty, he was my boss," said Joanne O'Connor, the club's director of catering and special events. "He was always telling me what to do."

Once Ms. O'Connor made a demand of her own. "I asked him, when are you going to take me for a ride in the fire truck?" It became a joke between them. Then one day, the huge red Rescue 1 pulled up in front of Laura Belle, packed with firemen on their way back from a call. In clomped Mr. Henry, who said, "Let's go for a ride."

KEITHROY MARCELLUS MAYNARD

Born on the small Caribbean island of Montserrat, KEITHROY MARCELLUS MAYNARD moved to New York City when he was 13. Maynard’s father, Captain Reynold White, was a 33-year veteran of the FDNY and a member of the Vulcan Society, the FDNY’s organization of black firefighters. With the mentorship and support of his father and other members of the Vulcan Society, Maynard prepared for the FDNY’s qualifying exams, earning near-perfect scores. He was appointed to the department in 1999.  

 Maynard was assigned to FDNY Engine Company 33 in the East Village neighborhood of New York City, but he hoped to eventually transfer to the firehouse near his home in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. He wanted to serve as a role model for children in his neighborhood, demonstrating that they could become firefighters, too.

Maynard joined the Vulcan Society, as his father had before him. Building on years of experience as a union organizer for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Maynard quickly rose to leadership and became the Vulcan Society’s Sergeant-At-Arms, making him the group’s youngest officer.

RONNIE LEE HENDERSON

He may have been earning a fireman's salary, but RONNIE LEE HENDERSON planned all along to turn that into more. He pared money from his paycheck and put it into bonds and mutual funds. In the quiet hours at the Engine Company 279 firehouse in Red Hook, he could be found reading books with titles like "How to Make Money Buying and Selling Houses."

"I'd say to him, 'What are you doing? You're a fireman, you know what we get paid,' " said a friend, Gary Kakeh.

The father of four children, Mr. Henderson also helped raise his five younger siblings. His advice to all of them was consistent: stay in school, save your money. He figured out travel routes that enabled him to avoid paying bridge and tunnel tolls, and would stand in line for hours to get the store specials, said his sister, Sharon.

As a teenager, he got a job in a Frito-Lay factory and got to bring home the extra potato chips. Naturally, he shared them with the rest of his family. "And he'd charge us a nickel," she added.

"He was always telling us he was going to be a millionaire," Ms. Henderson said. "He was a millionaire, by his heart."

ANDRE FLETCHER

Andre and Zackary Fletcher were the only African-American twins in the Fire Department. Both rushed to the World Trade Center; ANDRE FLETCHER never returned.

The son of Jamaican immigrants, Andre Fletcher attended the Bronx High School of Science, but later transferred to Brooklyn Technical High School to be near his brother and to play on the sports teams, which Bronx Science did not have. In 1994, both brothers joined the Fire Department. When he learned that the department had no baseball team, Andre Fletcher organized one. On the department football team, both played the same positions: wide receiver and defensive back.

Today, Zackary Fletcher is watching out for Andre's son, Blair, 12. He also talks of dreams, now dashed, that the two brothers had of modeling in tandem for TV commercials. The two had located an agent and were planning a trip to California to sell themselves.

Zackary Fletcher said his parents, Lunsford and Monica, were having a hard time, but it was especially difficult for him: "I miss him more than anyone else."

VERNON PAUL CHERRY

VERNON PAUL CHERRY‚ 49‚ firefighter‚ FDNY‚ Ladder 118. During his 29 years on the job‚ Cherry made a name for himself. He was an outstanding vocalist who sang at official firefighter functions and joined his band to entertain at social events. Almost 50‚ he was planning to retire at the end of 2001. A father of three‚ he was also a longtime court reporter and well known in the halls of justice. As a black firefighter‚ he helped bridge racial barriers.

He was just a terrific guy.

SHAWN E. POWELL

SHAWN E. POWELL was the firefighter with the light touch. Whether working at Engine Company 207 in downtown Brooklyn, at home in Crown Heights, or camping with his 5- year-old son, Joshua, he had a way of lifting spirits. "If there wasn't any fun going on, he would find a way," said Matthew Dwyer, a fellow firefighter. "With Shawn, the glass was half full, never half empty."

Firefighter Powell, 32, brought unusual skills to the Fire Department. An artist and woodcarver, he had built props and volunteered at several New York City theaters, including the Apollo Theater, and studied architecture at New York Technical College.

At Engine Company 207 — where the slogan is "The House of Misfit Toys" because of the company's specialized, somewhat bizarre-looking fire-fighting equipment — Mr. Powell made the point in comic relief with a poster that includes a square- wheeled fire engine.

Firefighter Powell and his wife, Jean, who had been teenage sweethearts in Brooklyn, married in 1989 and moved immediately to Germany, where he served four years in the Army. This year, Firefighter Powell's passion had been camping with Joshua. On several trips to lakes and state parks in New Jersey, he was teaching the boy to make a campfire and put up a tent and had planned another father-son outing soon after Sept. 11.

This page sourced information from News One, posted September 11, 2021: