On Sunday September 27, 2015, the Center Moriches Fire Department had the distinct honor of opening its doors to 28 soldiers from the 2nd Battalion 22nd Infantry regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division.

The soldiers from Fort Drum NY came down to run in the Stephen Siller Tunnel To Towers Run in Manhattan on Sunday morning.

The soldiers arrived Saturday where they were met by Center Moriches Firefighter John Dobrie who took them to the 9/11 memorial. Afterwards the soldiers were split up between 8 different FDNY firehouses in Brooklyn where they spent the night.

While visiting with FDNY Ladder 101 1st Sergeant Card had a special surprise for them. After the attacks of 9/11 FDNY Ladder 101 gave 1st Sergeant Card a halligan tool which was found in the rubble of the World Trade Center towers. 1st Sergeant Card took this halligan tool with him when he was deployed to Iraq. While in Iraq 1st Sergeant Card used this tool every day to breach doors and was eager to return to Ladder 101 to show them where the halligan tool had traveled to and the battle scars it was now covered in.

On Sunday the 2nd battalion 22nd infantry regiment ran the Tunnel To Towers Run as a group and was the only combat division running in the race. After the run the soldiers from Fort Drum were invited back to the Center Moriches Fire Department where they spent the night.

When the soldiers arrived at the Center Moriches Fire Department they were greeted by firefighters and their families. A large American flag hung across the parking lot in their honor. The soldiers from 2nd battalion 22nd infantry traded patches and other items with firefighters and their families. They also presented the Chiefs with a certificate of appreciation for their hospitality.

Center Moriches Firefighters took great pride in making sure the soldiers had everything they needed. Firefighters cooked a BBQ dinner for them and breakfast the following morning. Firefighters even transformed the upstairs meeting room into a makeshift bunk room.

It was a great honor for the Center Moriches Fire Department to open its doors for true American Heroes who put their lives on the line every day protecting our freedom.

Ironically, the same halligan tool that has been to Iraq and back was once again put to use. Twenty minutes after leaving Center Moriches for Fort Drum the convoy of soldiers were first on scene of an auto accident with injuries on the east bound lanes of the Long Island Expressway in Yaphank. Sprinting across 6 lanes of traffic with the halligan tool in hand 28 service men ran across the highway to the overturned vehicle to render whatever assistance they could. Using the halligan they pried the door open and safely removed the occupant from the vehicle and treated that person until first responders arrived.