The Hauppauge Fire Department lost two of its members on Sept. 11, 2001. Chief Peter Brennan and Chief Ray Meisenheimer were both firefighters with the FDNY.

Later, the department lost two more members to illnesses linked to ground zero - ex-Capt. Michael Tufarella and firefighter Jack Hough, who was a member of the SCPD.

Behind the fire department on Wheeler Road sits a 9-11 memorial, where the ultimate sacrifices of these members are never forgotten. The memorial includes replicas of the Twin Towers, a steel beam from the World Trade Center and benches in memoriam of Peter Brennan and Ray Meisenheimer.

It's a place for reflection, with a waterfall and carefully tended shrubs.

It's a place for gathering.

A place to grieve.

It's where the department holds its annual Sept. 11 memorial.

Ex-chief Walter Mayer told News 12 that "generations in the future have to understand what 9-11 was all about and the sacrifices that were made from all the people that were serving at that time and are suffering now."

The outdoor memorial is open to everyone, around the clock.