On a day much like the one that was nine years ago, Essex County held its 9/11 memorial to honor the 58 Essex County residents who did not return home that day. The ceremony was held at Essex County's Eagle Rock September 11th Memorial in West Orange's Eagle Rock Reservation.
As a string quartet played Pachelbel's Canon, a crowd of about 300 people found their seats before the start of the ceremony at 8 a.m. The Essex County Sheriff's Office Honor Guard began the ceremony with the presentation of the colors as a corps of bagpipers played Amazing Grace.
Opening remarks were made by Steve Adubato Jr. followed by a prayer from Rev. Ron Christian, Pastor, Christian Love Baptist Church. Recording artist Arlette then sang a stirring rendition of the national anthem.
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West Orange resident and Continental Airlines Flight Attendant Deborah Calimano spoke of that day. "In my travels, I find many people forget this day and we should not ever forget this day...and the innocent and precious lives that were taken from us."
Other speakers included Susan Rossinow, widow of Norman Rossinow of Cedar Grove, who was in the World Trade Center; Paula Dow, NJ Attorney General; M. Teresa Ruiz, NJ State Senator; Bill Pascrell, U.S. Congressman; and Frank Lautenberg, U.S. Senator.
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The last speaker was an emotional Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Essex County Executive, who closed the ceremony with these words: "We will never forget."
Because this patch of Eagle Rock overlooks the Manhattan skyline, people came here to bear witness to the tragic events as they unfolded. They came to grieve. To pray for those lost. To be with others. As the days passed, a spontaneous memorial appeared. People left flowers and flags, candles and cards, poems and prayers on the wall that overlooked the city. The location seemed to be the perfect place for Essex County to remember the residents it lost on that day.
A little more than a year after the attacks, on October 20, 2002, the memorial was dedicated. Designed by Patrick Morelli, the "Book of Remembrance" is a 4' x 7' bronze sculpture featuring the names of the Essex County residents who lost their lives in the attacks. In addition to the Book of Remembrance, a life-sized bronze eagle sculpture named "Freedom" flies above the book. In front of the book, holding a teddybear, is "Gabriella," a bronze sculpture of a girl representing the 1,000 children who lost a loved one on that day. Behind the book is the granite wall that bears the names of the 3,000 people who lost their lives on 9/11.
Memorials to the 343 firefighters and the 74 police personnel flank the book. In 2009 a memorial to the flight crews of the four planes was dedicated at the site.
Maplewood lost two residents that day—Douglas MacMillan Cherry and Kirsten L. Christophe. A memorial to them can be found near the Maplewood Train Station where they returned home from work each day. Another memorial is planned, using a piece of World Trade Center steel, at the Hilton Branch of the Maplewood Memorial Library.
The writer lost a family friend on September 11, 2001—Firefighter Eric T. Olsen. Olsen was a 41-year-old firefighter with NYFD Ladder Company 15. As the New York Times reported in a memorial, Olsen had a particular fondness for collecting Cadillacs from the 1940s. He owned 11 such vehicles, including one old fire engine. On the morning of September 11,2001, Olsen and his friend Arthur T. Barry, another off-duty firefighter, were planning on working on one of the cars. Instead, they responded to the attack at the World Trade Center.
