Princeton officials, first responders and residents gathered under bright, sunny skies to honor the memories of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on its 23rd anniversary.
The Princeton Police Department’s honor guard led the way, followed by a rendition of the National Anthem by violinist Mary Rorro at the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad headquarters at 2 Mount Lucas Road.
Rorro also performed a song that she composed whose aim is to help others to heal. She is a psychiatrist who works for the New Jersey Department of Veterans Affairs.
Mayor Mark Freda thanked the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad for hosting the annual ceremony, and pointed to the section of a steel beam from the World Trade Center that is embedded in the 9/11 Memorial on the plaza outside the squad’s headquarters.
The Sept. 11 terror attack was a defining moment in the nation’s history, and to those who were affected, “we remember you, we honor you and we appreciate you,” he said.
Frances Craig of the Mt. Pisgah AME Church on Witherspoon Street offered a prayer about 9/11, noting that a new generation does not remember the actual event when nearly 3,000 people died.
“In gathering together, we discover ourselves standing on common ground, which leads to the ability to learn and grow from each other,” Craig said. “It leads us toward knowing we have far more in common than those things that separate us.
“May we recognize the tapestry that sewed (the victims) all together. We do not remember how many were men or women, how many were over 60 years old or under 30 years old,” she said.
No one remembers how many were first responders, how many people were on their way to work, how many were CEO’s or who had just begun their careers, she said.
“But we do remember they were Americans,” Craig said.
Princeton can be an example to New Jersey and the United States that people with differences can still come together and work for the common good. Unity is a far more powerful weapon than division, and love is more powerful than hate, she said.
“For those who may still carry pain after 23 years, may our unity in this moment help to ease the hurt and bring comfort and hope,” Craig said.
Two memorial wreaths were placed next to the 9/11 Memorial on the plaza at the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad.
A bell on a Princeton Fire Department fire truck was tolled in memory of the 400-plus members of the Fire Department of New York, the Port Authority Police Department, the New York Police Department, 14 additional first responders and all others who died on Sept. 11.
Bagpiper Douglas Connors played “Amazing Grace” and walked toward the 9/11 Memorial.
Princeton High School junior Shawn Elwood played “TAPS,” echoed by a second rendition of “TAPS” fellow high school junior Worth Rowley.
Deacon Frank Crivello of St. Paul’s Catholic Church offered a closing prayer, recalling the late Father Mychal Judge. He was the Fire Department of New York chaplain and responded to the World Trade Center attacks.
The priest ran to the World Trade Center when he learned of the attacks, Crivello said. He had just administered the last rites to a fallen firefighter when he was struck and killed by debris from the south tower.
Five firefighters picked up his body and carried him away, Crivello said. They were about to enter the north tower at the World Trade Center and likely would have died, but they were spared because they carried Judge’s body away from the tower.
Princeton Fire Department volunteer firefighter William D. Shields presented boxes of relics – pieces of stones and gravel that had been found in the steel beam from the World Trade Center – to the Princeton Fire Department, the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad, the Princeton Police Department and the Princeton Middle School.
“This steel is not a solitary piece of cold metal,” Shields said, as he presented the relic boxes to the first responders. “It does not stand alone here, rusting away to soon be forgotten.’
Shields compared the steel beam to a tree whose branches may have been broken by storms, but that have recovered because of the support from within. The 9/11 Memorial will continue to stand the test of time.
“The memories of those lost that day will not be lost or withered away,” he said. “They will thrive and live on if we can stand together and make this commitment – we must never forget.”
