9/11 Annual Remembrance

9 11 Memorial

Morris County holds an annual remembrance ceremony at the Morris County 9/11 Memorial, located at 460 W. Hanover Ave. in Parsippany-Troy Hills. The ceremony honors the 2,977 people killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, including 64 Morris County residents, and recognizes the first responders and others who continue to experience long-term health effects. Morris County has held the ceremony at the memorial every year since 2003, including during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The public is encouraged to bring lawn chairs, as seating is limited. Parking is available at the Morris County Department of Human Services, 340 W. Hanover Ave. in Morris Township, with shuttle service provided to and from the memorial.

Police, fire and rescue departments interested in participating may send one apparatus per agency and assemble at the Morris County Public Safety Training Academy, 500 W. Hanover Ave. in Parsippany-Troy Hills.

The ceremony also will be livestreamed on the Morris County Government Facebook page.

History of the Morris County 9/11 Memorial

911 memorial.jpg

The Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders, now the Morris County Board of County Commissioners, and then-Morris County Administrator James Rosenberg, initiated efforts to construct a Morris County 9/11 Memorial just days after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.  A story in The Star-Ledger, written by Lawrence Ragonese (who would later become Communications Director for Morris County) best explained how the idea of a memorial was raised in a discussion between then-Freeholder Jack Shrier and former Freeholder Pat Maynard. 

Ms. Maynard, who was retired from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, had worked at the Twin Towers and knew people who were killed in the attacks. Freeholder Schrier raised the idea of a memorial and enlisted her in the effort. Freeholder John Murphy also became involved, as did Diana Vance, a Management Specialist within the Administrators Office who handled much of the logistics. 

This was and continues to be an “all hands on deck” effort. Many Morris County employees, leaders in the local community and volunteers were instrumental in having a memorial built and ensuring a memorial observation has been held annually. 

In 2001, the freeholders and administration began working with New Jersey and New York authorities to secure three steel beams from Ground Zero to serve as a center piece for the memorial and they established a memorial committee in February 2002 to review design proposals and consult on the project. 

Among the victim relatives on the committee were Loretta Viglione of Parsippany, whose brother, FDNY firefighter Tommy Sabella, died trying to save people at the Twin Towers. Also on the committee was Elizabeth Mattson of Rockaway Township, who lost her husband at the Twin Towers and Elizabeth Kemmerer of Budd Lake, who lost her mother on United Airlines Flight 93. 

By May of 2002, a design proposal by sculptor Jeff Brandner of Bradner Design, a former Chester resident, won approvals by the county and committee.

There was some debate over where to build the monument after property next to the county library was initially suggested. Other potential sites were debated, although a meadow on West Hanover Avenue in Parsippany-Troy Hills Township was the favorite and ultimately was formally selected in late 2002. Situated just west of the Morris County Public Safety Complex, the location provides an unobstructed vista of the New York City skyline, and the former location of the Twin Towers. 

The first anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks was observed by Morris County with a ceremony conducted on the Morristown Green on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2002, as plans to build a county memorial were underway. By April 2003, a non-for-profit foundation was established to collect donations to support construction and maintenance of the memorial, and on May 14, 2003, an official groundbreaking was conducted at the proposed site. 

As the second anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, approached, Morris County held two ceremonies to commemorate the attacks in 2003. The first was a candlelight vigil and prayer service held Sunday, Sept. 7 on the Morristown Green. The second, held on Sept. 10, 2003, at the county memorial site, was a solemn dedication to the largely finished memorial. The ceremonies held annually since then greatly resemble that initial commemoration. 

But the county and residents wanted to do more with the memorial after 2003. While the names of 64 Morris County victims were memorialized at the site, momentum built to memorialize all of those who were killed at the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and in Shanksville, PA on Sept. 11, 2001. Pavers surrounding the main memorial, bearing the names of every victim, were eventually proposed, although the effort did not materialize until a few years later and work was completed by 2008. 

Key Aspects of the Memorial:

9 11 memorial

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