Morris County Marks 24th 9/11 Anniversary With Remembrance Ceremony
Published on September 08, 2025
Keynote Delivered by Retired FDNY Firefighter Rudy Sanfilippo
The sound of bagpipes carried through the air Sunday evening as uniformed police, fire and emergency medical personnel led a solemn procession to the Morris County 9/11 Memorial, where residents and officials gathered to honor the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
View Photos from the 2025 Morris County 9/11 Ceremony
Carrying a folded American flag, Randolph Township Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Dunn led the procession alongside U.S. Reps. Tom Kean Jr. and Mikie Sherrill, State Sen. Anthony M. Bucco and Sheriff James M. Gannon. As Dunn presented the flag to Rudy Sanfilippo, retired firefighter for the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), the Police Pipes and Drums of Morris County began to play.
Sanfilippo then joined Sheriff’s Capt. Walter Rawa to raise and lower the flag to half-staff, before Deputy Chief Dunn led the Pledge of Allegiance and the Morris Choral Society followed with the national anthem.
View the Livestream Recording of the Ceremony
Sanfilippo, who served as a union representative for Manhattan’s 2,000 firefighters, delivered the keynote and recounted his survival of both tower collapses at the World Trade Center.
“As I was heading up to the North Tower, at 9:59 a.m., the South Tower collapsed. It fell south and east, so I was able to stay away from it because the building didn’t really fall my way,” Sanfilippo told the crowd.
From there, he continued to make his way up the West Side Highway, where he described being trapped when the North Tower fell.
“It took approximately ten seconds for the building to pancake down. I was choking on dust. I tried to breathe and I realized basically I was done… I went down to my knees for about ten seconds, and then said, ‘You know what? This is BS -- I’m a New York City firefighter.’ So I stood up and I just marched north,” said Sanfilippo.
He later ordered the evacuation of 7 World Trade Center before its collapse, saving countless lives. In total, 343 members of FDNY were killed in the attacks at the World Trade Center.
“The attacks on September 11th were a brutal strike meant to crash our economy, undermine our democracy and shake our ability to maintain a free and open society. It did not succeed. In the face of terror, the spirit of America remained resilient — in our firefighters, our police, our EMTs, and in everyday citizens who became heroes that day and in the days that followed,” said Commissioner Director Tayfun Selen, who provided welcoming remarks before introducing Sanfilippo.
Parsippany-Troy Hills Township resident Loretta Viglione, introduced by Commissioner Christine Myers, read a poem about her brother, FDNY Firefighter Tommy Sabella.
“I spent many days in New York City hoping to find some trace of my brother. Tommy was never found,” said Viglione. “September 11, 2001 was life changing in so many ways. It was a day of sorrow and fear, and it was a day of heroes. Every family needs a hero and my brother, Tommy, was one.”
Commissioner Deborah Smith initiated a candle-lighting vigil as Commissioners Douglas Cabana and Thomas Mastrangelo read the names of the 64 Morris County residents lost on 9/11, each name answered by the toll of a bell struck by Morris County Fire Marshal James Davidson. The Police Pipes and Drums performed “Amazing Grace,” followed by a 21-gun salute from the Morris County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard and “Taps” by Michael Del Vecchio of Bugles Across America.
The ceremony also featured musical tributes by Darren O’Neill and Ereni Sevasti, an invocation by the Rev. Herman Scott of Calvary Baptist Church, and support from the U.S. Naval Cadet Sea Corps of Picatinny Arsenal. The program concluded with the Morris Choral Society’s “Irish Blessing” and closing remarks from Commissioner John Krickus.
“We have held our vigil for nearly a quarter century at this memorial, constructed in 2003. It’s a unique monument in so many ways, and it remains an enduring reminder of a heartbreaking period in our shared American history,” said Commissioner Krickus.
Twenty-four years later, the ritual endures -- an annual pledge that Morris County will never forget.
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Photo 1: Keynote speaker Rudy Sanfilippo, retired FDNY firefighter, carries the flag to Morris County 9/11 Memorial.
Photo 2: (l-r) Commissioners Deborah Smith and Christine Myers, Commissioner Director Tayfun Selen, Commissioners Thomas Mastrangelo and Douglas Cabana, Morris County Director of Communications Vincent Vitale, Rev. Herman Scott, Rudy Sanfilippo, U.S. Reps. Tom Kean Jr. and Mikie Sherrill, Sen. Anthony Bucco and Asm. Michael Inganamort.
Photo 3: The procession marching down W. Hanover Ave on Sept. 7, 2025. Leading the procession from left to right is: Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon, U.S. Tom Kean Jr., Randolph Twp. Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Dunn, U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill and State Sen. Anthony M. Bucco. Behind them are the U.S. Naval Cadet Sea Corps of Picatinny Arsenal.