By Wendy Greenberg
It’s been 25 years since almost 3,000 lives were lost when two hijacked airplanes hit the World Trade Center in New York City, another struck the Pentagon, and a third plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pa., on September 11, 2001. Princeton and its neighbors have not forgotten.
Princeton lost nine residents; 18 others were from Mercer County; and still more were from neighboring areas, like Cranbury resident Todd Beamer, who with other passengers famously tried to overpower the hijackers on the plane that went down in Shanksville. New Jersey lost some 700 residents that day, according to the news reports.
Many families have mementoes, photographs, or other keepsakes from their loved ones. They are welcome to bring them to Friday’s September 11 remembrance ceremony at the Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad (PFARS), which will have tables to display those items. A registry will be available to record names of loved ones lost to the terror attacks, including those lost from resulting
health conditions.
The ceremony, one of several in the area, is at the steel beam monument, 2 Mount Lucas Road, beginning with the viewing of memorabilia at 11 a.m., with a noon ceremony. No advance registration is necessary. This year’s ceremony also includes the unveiling of a new plaque at the monument.
Parking is available at the Community Park Pool lot across from Station 60 on Witherspoon Street. Handicapped parking is in the lower lot of the Municipal Building.
Ari Meisel, PFARS executive director, who is among those who has a personal connection to the events of September 11, said he hopes there will be a larger turnout this year due to the 25th anniversary.
“It is an incredible honor and a privilege to lead Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad during this 25th anniversary of September 11th,” he said. “This day carries deep personal meaning for me. My mother-in-law passed away from an illness related to 9/11, and my wife and I both grew up close to Ground Zero. To be able to stand with this community and honor that memory, in this role, at this moment, means more than words can really capture.”
The steel beam monument at the PFARS building was part of the fallen World Trade Center. Some 10 years after the event, Roy James, former Princeton Fire Department chief, was able to obtain it, and ceremoniously brought it Princeton in March 2012.
The 10-foot long beam, which weighs more than 2,000 pounds, sat in the former Chestnut Street firehouse until it found a home at the new rescue squad building.
The monument resembles a compass, with the base marking the mileage from Princeton to the World Trade Center, Shanksville, and the Pentagon.
William Shields, a past fire chief and Engine Company #1 president who has organized the remembrance ceremony for five years, has been busy of late, making sure he has all the details worked out: the participating local clergy; a bagpiper; flowers; a violinist; a national anthem singer; a speaker; two buglers to play taps; an honor guard, and more.
“Every year I do a little more,” he said. “I keep asking, ‘Do I have everything?’”
During the ceremony the fire bell will toll five times for different groups who lost members, like the New York Police Department and New York firefighters, and for all who died or suffered as a result of the attacks following September 11. Names of those from Princeton who lost their lives will be read.
This year a plaque will be installed with some words Shields spoke at a previous event that likens the steel to a weathered tree that will stand the test of time. “We will never forget,” it declares. If the plaque is not ready, he said, a facsimile will be presented.
Also that day, Princeton University will hold a memorial service for the 14 alumni who died in the September 11 attacks, at 12 p.m. in the campus 9/11 Memorial Garden, located between Nassau Hall and Chancellor Green. Ryan Ruskin, Class of 1990, president of the Alumni Association, and chair of the Alumni Council, will read the names of the alumni who died.
Princeton High School students will observe a moment of silence that morning, reported principal Cecilia Birge, who added that social studies classes incorporate lessons into their curriculum.
Other memorial services are planned in the area.
Hopewell Valley will hold its memorial on Saturday, September 12, at 11 a.m. at 203 Washington Crossing Pennington Road in Titusville, sponsored by The Hopewell Valley September 11 and EMS Memorial Committee.
West Windsor Township will hold a ceremony on Friday, September 11, at 6:30 p.m. at Twin Ponds 9/11 Memorial in the Ronald R. Rogers Arboretum, 271 Clarksville Road. The ceremony will feature the 25th anniversary rededication of the Twin Ponds 9/11 Memorial, the placement of 2,983 flags in tribute, and the unveiling of a new addition to the site.
The Montgomery Township Volunteer Fire Company #2 will honor the lives lost at an event on Friday, September 11, at 6 p.m., at the 9/11 Memorial, located at 529 County Route 518. Earlier, a township memorial is planned for 8:46 a.m., at Montgomery Veterans Park’s Veterans Memorial at 235 Harlingen Road.
Mercer County Park in West Windsor will host county leaders, first responders, and veterans on Friday, September 11, at 11:30 a.m. at the 9/11 Memorial near the boathouse at Mercer County Park in West Windsor. The site features a 9/11 memorial with a piece of World Trade Center steel designed in collaboration with local ironworkers and artists, located near the Marina and boathouse.
The Garden of Reflection 9/11 Memorial in Lower Makefield, Pa., will be the site of a memorial service at 8:30 a.m. on September 11. It is located on 1950 Woodside Road, and was created to remember and honor all those killed on September 11, 2001. It is situated in Memorial Park in Bucks County, a physical homage with special recognition of the 18 Bucks County victims. It will feature a timeline of the 2001 attacks marked by bell tolls, reading the names of local victims, and community remarks.
Ewing Township will hold its annual 9/11 Memorial Ceremony on Friday, September 11, at 6 p.m., at the Ewing Police & Firefighter Memorial, located behind the Ewing Municipal Building at 2 Jake Garzio Drive. The Firefighter Memorial includes a piece of one of the towers.
Several other locations offer settings which are memorials to those who lost their lives in the September 11 attacks.
Hunterdon County’s Hilltop Preserve in Raritan Township was a place to gather 25 years ago, as its location 700 feet above sea level offered a view of the smoke from the World Trade Center. A portion was set aside to remember 15 Hunterdon County residents who died in the attacks. The new space opens this week, and will have a plaque, and landscaping that is a reminder of the three sites where planes went down.
In Lawrence Township, a local memorial featuring a 12-by-12-inch piece of World Trade Center steel rests on Pilla Avenue across from the Lawrence Township Emergency Medical Services headquarters.
The Cranbury Township Volunteer Fire Company has a permanent 9/11 memorial on display at the Route 19 Fire Station.
And, for those who are too young to remember, but want to learn more, the Princeton Public Library has a resource guide called Understanding 9/11 that is updated regularly. The guide includes children’s and adult book lists at princetonlibrary.org/guides/understanding-9-11-resource-guide and also includes online resources, lesson plans, and other information.