20 Years Later, Remembering Middletown's 9/11 Victims

NEW JERSEY— Anyone older than 25 in New Jersey likely remembers where they were on Sept. 11, 2001.

Americans watched as first one and then another plane flew into the twin towers. Another plane took aim at the Pentagon, killing 125, and a fourth was brought down in a field in Pennsylvania by incredibly brave passengers who realized their flight had been hijacked — and made the ultimate sacrifice to protect their nation.

Middletown lost the most residents, per capita, after New York City, with 37 Middletown residents killed that day.

Middletown resident Matthew Casey lost his mother, Kathleen (Casey) Hunt; she ran the equities trading desk for Sandler O'Neill in the South Tower.

"You had to be strong to work on Wall Street, especially as a female back then, and she took her career very seriously," Casey, her only child, told PBS this week. He was only 14 when his mother was killed. "The pain doesn't go away. It's just a different kind of pain."

Kathleen's name is among the many at the Middletown WTC Memorial Gardens, and Casey said he often goes to the gardens with his wife and daughter. He said it's a peaceful place where he can feel his mother's spirit and talk to her. He also named his toddler daughter Kate, after his mother.

Read: 5 Ways To Remember Sept. 11 This Weekend In Monmouth County

All 37 Middletown residents killed in 9/11:

• Lorraine D. Antigua, 32; Cantor Fitzgerald; United States World Trade Center
• Stephen J. Cangialosi, 40; Cantor Fitzgerald; United States World Trade Center
• Christopher Newton Carter, 52; Sandler O'Neill & Partners; United States World Trade Center
• Dolores Marie Costa, 53; Fred Alger Management; United States World Trade Center
• Michael Egan, 51; Aon Corp.; United States World Trade Center
• David Francis Ferrugio, 46; Cantor Fitzgerald; United States World Trade Center
• John Michael Grazioso, 41; Cantor Fitzgerald; United States World Trade Center
• Patrick Aloysius Hoey, 53; Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; United States World Trade Center
• Kathleen (Casey) Hunt, 43; Sandler O'Neill & Partners; United States World Trade Center
• Rosanne P. Lang, 42; Cantor Fitzgerald; United States World Trade Center
• Anna A. Laverty, 52; Fiduciary Trust International; United States World Trade Center
• Peter T. Milano, 43; Cantor Fitzgerald; United States World Trade Center
• Louis Joseph Minervino, 54; Marsh USA; United States World Trade Center
• James Thomas Murphy, 35; Cantor Fitzgerald; United States World Trade Center
• Paul R. Nimbley, 42; Cantor Fitzgerald
• Robert Emmett Parks Jr., 47; Cantor Fitzgerald; United States World Trade Center
• John M. Pocher, 36; Cantor Fitzgerald; United States World Trade Center
• Richard James Stadelberger, 55; Fiduciary Trust International; United States World Trade Center
• Anthony M. Ventura, 41; Fiduciary Trust International; United States World Trade Center
• Rodney James Wotton, 36; Fiduciary Trust International; United States World Trade Center
• Ronald Michael Breitweiser, 39; Fiduciary Trust International; United States World Trade Center
• Justin J. Molisani Jr., 42; Euro Brokers Inc.; United States World Trade Center
• Jane S. Beatty, 53; Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc.; United States World Trade Center
• Nicholas P. Pietrunti, 38; Cantor Fitzgerald; United States World Trade Center
• Leonardo:
• Alfred Braca, 54; Cantor Fitzgerald; United States World Trade Center
• Danny A. Correa-Gutierrez, 25; Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc.; United States World Trade Center
• Patrick Joseph Buhse, 36; Cantor Fitzgerald; United States World Trade Center
• Swede Joseph Chevalier, 26; Cantor Fitzgerald; United States World Trade Center
• Donna Bernaerts-Kearns
• Edward Desimone III
• Daniel J. Gallagher
• Felicia Hamilton
• Brendan Mark Lang
• Michael Patrick McDonnell
• John M. Pocher
• Beth Ann Quigley
• Gregg Reidy, 25 worked at Cantor Fitzgerald
• Robert Andrew Spencer
• Kenneth Tietjen

Nearly 3,000 Americans, including 750 from New Jersey, were killed in the suicide attacks carried out by 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaida.

The annual “Tribute of Light,” which are lights pointed to the sky in the shape of the Twin Towers, will go on that night.

More than 2,700 people died at the World Trade Center alone on 9/11, including the passengers of American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175. Another 184 were killed when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into The Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and 44 died on United Airlines Flight 93 near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.