By STEPHANIE VOSK
STAFF WR ITER
May 01, 2007 6:00 AM
WOODS HOLE - The plaque's words are an homage to a poem as it appeared on
refrigerator magnets in the Casey home:
"We love our gorgeous goddess with her dreamy red hair, sweetly together
with cool boy in a delirious symphony of love, their diamond moment by the
sea."
The plaque was a fixture at Nobska Light since 2002, shortly after Neilie
Casey was killed aboard American Airlines Flight 11 on Sept. 11.
Until last week.
On April 22, the bronze plaque was reported stolen to Falmouth police. A
large pry-bar was found in the grass nearby, according to the police
report.
"How can anybody stoop so low?" said Kent Kannenberg of Cummaquid, who is
married to Neilie's mother, Anne Heffernan.
"It's far more than just a personal and family memorial. It's mourning a
national tragedy and it's symbolic of that, and these creeps desecrated
that," he said, noting that the plaque may have been stolen for the value
of
its metal.
A small bench at the site was stolen a couple of years ago, Neilie's
mother
said. She never imagined the plaque would be stolen, too.
"We have no identifiable remains, none," Heffernan said yesterday.
"Neilie's
Point is our only memorial at all to a beautiful person, as well as a
national treasure."
Neilie was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane to
crash into the World Trade Center. The couple had a daughter, Riley, who
was
only 9 months old when her mother died.
"That was a special spot for Neilie and me," said Michael Casey last fall
about why the memorial was in Falmouth. "I always think it's a nice place
for people to go and remember Neilie."
Casey proposed to his bride-to-be at Nobska Light, and they were married
along Falmouth Harbor on Sept. 21, 1996.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., helped the family secure the spot for the
memorial, Heffernan and Kannenberg said.
"I know how important the Nobska Light location is to the Heffernans and
Caseys, and I'm deeply saddened that this fitting memorial to her was
taken," Sen. Kennedy said in a statement yesterday. "I'm hopeful that
whoever is responsible realizes the deep impact this thoughtless act has
on
Neilie's family and returns it."
On a visit to the site last year, Kannenberg said he and his wife
encountered a woman laying flowers in front of the memorial.
While she didn't know Neilie, she told them, she had been so moved to hear
her story that she felt the urge to go pay her respects. "Every time we go
there, something like that happens," Kannenberg said. "There's been a
hundred stories like that, that we've encountered."
Kannenberg said he believes Casey will replace the plaque if it is not
returned.
Casey said last fall that he spent about $5,000 on the memorial's erection
and its upkeep since 2002.
The plaque is valued at $2,000, according to the police report, so the
incident was classified as larceny over $250, which is a felony.
Police are investigating, and anyone with information about the robbery is
asked to call the Falmouth Police Department at 508-457-2526.
Stephanie Vosk can be reached at svosk @[EMAIL PROTECTED]
capecodonline.com.
:-(
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