MORRIS COUNTY — The Morris County Board of Freeholders invites all residents from across Morris County and neighboring counties to join them in observing the 16th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against our nation at the Morris County Remembers 9/11 Service on Sunday, September 10.
The ceremony will begin at 6:00 p.m. at the Morris County September 11th Memorial on West Hanover Avenue in Parsippany-Troy Hills, across from the Morris View Healthcare Center and adjacent to the Morris County Public Safety Academy. The event will be held rain or shine.
New York City firefighter and Boonton native John Fila will be the keynote speaker. Fila is a member of NYFD Engine 54, Ladder 4, Battalion 9, which is located near Times Square and lost 15 firefighters during the 9/11 emergency response.
“It is important to gather at the county memorial each year on the anniversary of 9/11 to recall every single one of the nearly 3,000 innocent people who were tragically lost to our nation that day, including 64 of our Morris County residents,” said Freeholder Director Doug Cabana. “We want their families and friends to know their loved ones are not forgotten,” he added.
“As a society, we have an obligation to remember what happened on that tragic day, to recall the lives lost and the long-lasting impact on the families and our nation as a result of these terrorist attacks,’’ added Deputy Freeholder Director John Cesaro. “With that pain comes lessons learned, which we can never forget,” he said.
The county’s 9/11 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.
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 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.
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, in Morris Township – directly across from the Academy. Shuttle buses will be available to transport those in need the short distance 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 4:45 p.m. at the Morris County Public Safety Academy, 500 West Hanover Avenue, Parsippany.
From there, a procession will be held to the September 11th Memorial.
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