Jersey City 9/11 Memorial | Contributed Photo
JERSEY CITY, NJ – In commemorating the 21st anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Mayor Steven M. Fulop joined local dignitaries, family members, and community members with its annual “Reflections” Ceremony across from where the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center (WTC) once stood.
The annual remembrance ceremony in Jersey City took place with a backdrop of the Manhattan skyline. All 39 names of the Jersey City residents who were killed on September 11 were read by Assemblywoman McKnight and the Jersey City Municipal Council members. The entire event was live-streamed for those who couldn’t attend in person.
“Jersey City had one of the larger amounts of fatalities outside of New York, so it’s always a day of significance here,” said Mayor Steven M. Fulop, enlisting himself in the Marine Corps because of the terror attacks. “There are many reasons why this event is so important – to memorialize the many lives lost 21 years ago and to educate the broader public, especially our younger generation who may not have been born yet.”
N.J. Assemblywoman Angela McKnight said: “Last year was a milestone year, but every year it is just as important that we come together to commemorate the lives lost on that horrific day where Jersey City became a respite for many. Attending this event allows me to give my support to those who lost loved ones and to keep their memories alive no matter how much time has passed.”
The Jersey City 9-11 memorial comprises twisted steel beams from Ground Zero. The beams are sculpted to form the letter “A” when viewed from above. The ‘A’ for America is a backdrop to the black granite memorial stone that names the 38 fallen residents from Jersey City.
“Having these events and acknowledgments every year keeps their memories alive. It’s important for me to make sure I attend every year because my friend, Barbara Etzold, didn’t get an opportunity to move on with her life,” concluded Jersey City resident Barbara Smith. “The fact that it’s now 21 years and how quickly it’s gone by. It really is the least I can do.”
More New Jerseyans died on 9/11 than any other state in the union, second only to New York – nearly 700. 539 New Jerseyans are still officially “missing” at the WTC site, according to the state police, who’ve declared that their list “is no longer being updated” as it “serves as a memorial to those New Jersey residents who lost their lives in the World Trade Center Disaster, September 11, 2001.”
Of the nearly 3,000 lives that perished in the worst terror attack in the U.S., 22 were of Filipino descent, of which six were from New Jersey, including Manuel L. Lopez from Jersey City, according to reports. Grace Alegre-Cua from Glen Rock, Cesar Alviar, Bloomfield, Marilyn Bautista, Iselin, Judy Hazel Santillan Fernandez, Parlin, Jayceryll Malabuyoc de Chavez, Carteret, and Maria Theresa Santillan, Livingston. Manuel Alarcon of Medford is reportedly still missing.
–With Jay Domingo/PDM
