GLEN RIDGE — Essex County communities, including Glen Ridge, observed the 25th anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks on Friday morning, Sept. 11, at the Eagle Rock Sept. 11 Memorial, in West Orange. The elevated site is a fitting place for this special purpose. With Manhattan in the distance, it puts thoughts of that day and its quarter-century aftermath into sacred perspective.
The commemoration, which was well-attended by victims’ relatives, state, county, municipal officials, first responders and survivors, was hosted by Stephen Adubato, the TV personality. He informed everyone that there would be two moments of silence during the morning’s proceedings, at 8:46 and 9:03, marking the times when the jets hit each tower.
The ceremony began with the national anthem sung by Arlette, who sings for the NJ Devils, the hockey team.
Imam W. Deen Shareef then spoke. He said pain was the first part of God’s mercy and 25 years is a significant time period, allowing us to increase our knowledge for spiritual reflection. God, he said, uses bad people to remind us what we must fight against within ourselves.
“God spoke the truth,” he said. “I hope that sets us free.”
He was followed by Father Ed Leahy, the headmaster of St. Benedicts Prep, who said that what was needed were hearts that understood others.
Deborah Calimano, a United Airlines flight attendant who advocated for the remembrance of her colleagues, spoke. These people, she said, were the first to die. They include the pilots whom the terrorist killed.
“That’s what they did,” she said.
Adubato introduced Melissa Charter, a Port Authority worker who was on the 21st floor of a tower when a jet hit it. She commended the county executive, Joseph DiVincenzo, for immediately setting to work building the Eagle Rock 9/11 site following the attacks.
“This is a special place,” she said. “It was the only memorial available to survivors.”
She recalled that, during the attack, when she thought she was going to die, she asked God to forgive her sins and to let her family know how much she loved them.
Michael DeRosa, who lost an aunt, remembered the days after the attack and how kind people were.
“It’s important to teach this to the younger generation and how we came together,” he said.
Adubato added to this.
“We talk about the next generation,” he said. “We must do a much better job because a lot of younger people think we never come together.”
Adubato said 57 Essex County residents died on 9/11.
“It’s 8:44,” he said, preparing for the moment of silence. “We ask the reporters to chill.”
The names of the Essex County residents were then read by nine students and by Megan Tsitsoulas, who said just one.
“Antoinette Duger, our mother, we miss you everyday,” she said.
Final remarks included those by Carlos Pomares, the president of the Essex County Board of Commissioners. He thanks flight crew attendants and EMS workers for attending the ceremony. He asked, rhetorically, how do we teach young people about 9/11?
“By bringing them into our suffering,” he said. “In time, a sob becomes a memory of the people we lost.”
The 9:03 moment of silence was then observed.
Essex County Sheriff Amir Jones said the kind of courage people saw on 9/11 is now taken for granted.
“When you make an emergency 9-1-1 phone call, remember, you’re asking a stranger to help a stranger,” he said.
DiVincenzo said he told his granddaughter that, when he is no longer around, he wanted her to always be a part of the county ceremony.
The benediction was given by Rabbi Marc Katz, of Temple Ner Tamid, Bloomfield.
Twenty-five years, he said, marks a change from one kind grief to something more settled.
“Healing takes time,” he said. “We’re at that new stage now. We can tell our story.”
Youth, he said, cannot see their visions without the dreams of old men.
Glen Ridge Mayor Deborah Mans provided this newspaper with her statement.
“We honor the memory of the Glen Ridge residents who tragically lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001,” she said. “Their absence remains deeply felt. As we reflect on all the souls lost, we pledge to never forget and to continue supporting one another with the strength and kindness that defines Glen Ridge. We remember Bryan Craig Bennett, Thomas H. Bowden Jr., John A. Candela, Robert J. Coll Jr., Michael Patrick LaForte, Craig D. Montano and Leah E. Oliver.”
Photos by Daniel Jackovino
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