Mayor Michael Melham and the Belleville Township Council invite residents to join with the township’s first responders to remember those lost when America came under attack 22 years ago.
Members of Belleville’s police and fire departments will lead the township’s 22nd-annual Sept. 11, 2001, remembrance ceremony at 9/11 Memorial Park, Franklin Avenue and Chestnut Street, Monday, Sept. 11, at 11 a.m.
The township will pause to remember three of its own residents who died that day — Antoinette Duger, Harry Ramos and Harvey J. Gardner III.
“We must keep these souls and all the others who were killed that day in our hearts forever,” Melham said. “9/11 Memorial Park — with two steel beams recovered from Ground Zero — is a fitting place to recall lives unexplainably cut short.”
The park’s stone marker is engraved with a quote from President George W. Bush: “Terrorist attacks can shake the foundation of our biggest buildings. But they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.”
Belleville’s first responders didn’t hesitate that fateful day, dashing off toward Manhattan with the hopes of rescuing survivors from the rubble of the fallen Twin Towers. Doctors and nurses at Clara Maass Medical Center were on high alert, prepared to treat patients and help relieve overburdened hospitals in Manhattan.
“Our hearts are always heavy on this day. Together, we have a duty to pause, remember and reflect what our community has lost,” Melham said. “Twenty-two years later, we remain shocked and saddened.”
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on Facebook Live, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.