PARSIPPANY — The Morris County Board of Freeholders invites the public to join them in observing the 14th anniversary of 9/11 at a Remembrance Service and Candlelight Vigil on Sunday, September 13.
The ceremony will begin at 5:00 p.m. at the Morris County September 11th Memorial on West Hanover Avenue, Parsippany-Troy Hills, across from the Morris View Healthcare Center and adjacent to the Morris County Public Safety Academy.
The event will include a march with a color guard up West Hanover Avenue to the Memorial by police, fire, rescue and emergency personnel from across Morris County.
The observance will include a special invocation, a lighting of candles, and reading of the names of each of the Morris County victims, plus a 21-gun salute, and keynote remarks.
Elizabeth Schrier, the widow of the late Freeholder Jack Schrier, who was instrumental in getting Morris County’s 9/11 Memorial constructed, will carry the American flag during the ceremony.
Morris County’s September 11th Memorial pays tribute to all of those who died in the terrorist attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C., on Sept. 11, 2001, with a special emphasis on the 64 victims from Morris County whose names are etched in plaques that are affixed to the Memorial.
The names of all of the nearly 3,000 people who died that day are engraved in ruby-colored paving stones that have been set in the ground as a walkway surrounding the Memorial.
“It is vitally important to gather each year on the anniversary of 9/11 to recall every single one of the nearly 3,000 people who were tragically lost to us on that day, including 64 of our Morris County residents,’’ said Freeholder Director Kathy DeFillippo. “Their families and friends should know that the lives of their loved ones will never be forgotten.’’
Since seating at the Memorial is limited, the public is encouraged to bring lawn chairs to the outdoor observance. Parking will be available at the Morris County Department of Human Services building at 340 West Hanover Avenue, Morris Township, across from the Academy. Shuttle buses will be available to transport those in need to the Memorial.
The freeholders also invite police and fire departments and rescue squads from across the county to participate by sending one apparatus per department and assembling at 6:00 p.m. at the Morris County Public Safety Academy, 500 West Hanover Avenue, in Parsippany-Troy Hills. From there, a procession will be held to the Sept. 11th Memorial.