The Union County Sept. 11 Memorial located in Echo Lake Park in Mountainside. The county will hold a day-long memorial event, and many towns around the county will be holding events as well.
UNION COUNTY, NJ — Exactly 14 years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the Pentagon, United Airlines Flight 93 and the World Trade Center in New York City, events which affected many local residents and their loved ones, many communities in Union County will be holding observances and memorials at train stations, town halls and other public buildings.
The county itself will be holding a day-long service in Mountainside’s Echo Lake Park, where there is a Sept. 11 memorial with the names of the Union County residents who lost their lives etched into its side. Visitors will be welcome to pay their respects at the memorial from the morning hours through 9 p.m. and honor the memories of the 60 Union County residents who died in the Sept. 11 attacks.
The Echo Lake Park memorial, which was dedicated in September of 2003, was constructed through private donations, and the residents of Cranford, Elizabeth, Kenilworth, Linden, Mountainside, Rahway, Scotch Plains, Summit, Union and Westfield helped plan and build it. It includes two girders from the World Trade Center arranged within a five-sided area representing the Pentagon, as well as an Eternal Flame representing those who died in Pennsylvania.
The city of Elizabeth will be hosting another service, called a September 11 Remembrance Ceremony, which will begin at 8:46 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 11, the exact time of the attacks on the World Trade Center. It will be held at Elizabeth Train Station at West Grand Street.
In Scotch Plains, to honor the first responders who rescued thousands of lives, and in conjunction with the Scotch Plains Fanwood Ministerium, officials will be holding an evening memorial at the Sept. 11 Memorial Monument in the Alan Augustine Park Village Green. The memorial begins at 6:30 p.m.
In Summit, a small ceremony will be held at the Summit Fire Department in the morning hours, at the same time as the Sept. 11 attacks. City staffers attend, and members of the public are welcome to join them for proceedings. A bell is rung at the moment the first tower fell, and then comments are made by Mayor Ellen Dickson, the Summit Fire Chief and other city officials.
Roselle Park will conduct a Remembrance Service on Friday, Sept. 11, at 6 p.m., and it will be hosted at Kelly-Kaulfers Memorial Park. The ceremony will honor, remember and pay respect to the victims and heroes of the Sept. 11 attacks, as well as those serving in the military, both abroad and domestic.
Roselle Park also asks that on Friday, Sept. 11, an American flag is displayed outside every home, apartment, office and store in the township, in honor of those who lost their lives in the attacks, as well as the families, friends and loved ones who are still affected.
A September 11 Day of Remembrance is being hosted by Plainfield, where residents are invited to meet on the steps of Plainfield City Hall starting at 8:30 a.m.
Bells will ring at both 8:46 a.m. and 9:03 a.m., the times of the separate attacks on the World Trade Center. The Plainfield Police Color Guard, the Plainfield Academy for the Arts and Advanced Studies, clergy members, and Mayor Adrian O. Mapp will contribute to the service.
The Linden Fire Dept. will be having a Sept. 11 memorial ceremony honoring those who lost their lives at Firehouse 1, 302 South Wood Ave., in the tear Parking Lot at the Flag Pole at 9:30 am.
Also in Linden, Councilwoman Michele Yamakiatis, and 8th Ward residents will hold their annual Wanda A. Green Candlelight Vigil at 6:15 p.m. at Wanda Green Park on Mack Place in Linden. The mayor and other dignitaries will be speaking.
And in Linden from 7 to 10 p.m. at the PAL Field, Lower Road in Linden, the Linden Firefighters will face off against the Linden Police Officers in their annual “Battle of the Badges” flag football game. This is the 7th annual fundraiser game and is in memory of Wanda A. Green, the Linden flight attendant that lost her life on United Flight 93. Tickets are $5 and all proceeds go to the Linden PAL.
In Kenilworth, there will be a Sept. 11 ceremony hosted by Kenilworth Borough Hall at 6 p.m.
In Union, a moment of silence will be held in the municipal building on the morning of Friday, Sept. 11.