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As the group gathered on Friday, Oct. 20 along Mountainview Avenue at the Thruway entrance where a monument stands, all remembered Nyack Police Sgt. Edward O'Grady, Nyack Police Officer Waverly "Chipper" Brown and Brinks guard Peter Paige and the sacrifices they made.
The hour-long ceremony, included a wreath-laying, a police honor guard, a rifle salute, and guest speaker Michael Greco, a Rockland resident who heads the U.S. Marshals Service for the Southern District in New York.
The robbery that ended with three dead and several wounded by self-professed revolutionaries started with the murder of Brinks guard Paige while stealing $1.8 million at the Nanuet National Bank located at the Nanuet Mall.
Following the robbery and shooting of Paige, police from across the area began a manhunt that included a roadblock at the Thruway entrance by Nyack police -- the spot where a U-Haul truck with six-armed men with high-powered weapons jumped out of the back of the vehicle and killed Brown and O'Grady and wounded Det. Arthur Keenan and Officer Brian Lennon.
Back at the mall, guard Joseph Trombino was seriously wounded. He would later survive the 1990 bombing of the World Trade Center and tragically died during the Sept. 11 attack on the Twin Towers.
Over the years, the men have never been forgotten, nor have their attackers, with many working to make sure the killers remained in jail.
Last year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo granted clemency to participant Judith Clark which made her eligible for parole. A move that angered law enforcement across the area. Her parole was denied in April.
The one person to be released from prison was Kathy Boudin, a member of the Weather Underground and daughter of a civil rights attorney. She was paroled in 2002 after serving 22 years.
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