Montclair 9/11 Ceremony Will Remember Local Victims On 25th Anniversary Of Attacks

MONTCLAIR, NJ — The Township of Montclair will hold a remembrance ceremony on the 25^th anniversary of the September 11^th attacks.

The 2026 ceremony will take place on Friday, Sept. 11 at the 9/11 Memorial in Watchung Plaza. The event will start at 8:45 a.m. with the placement of flowers and leis for the victims, coinciding with the time of the first attack on the World Trade Center.

A formal proceeding will begin at 9 a.m. Mayor Renee Baskerville will serve as master of ceremonies. The program will include musical performances by the Montclair Community Band, police and fire honor guards, remarks from representatives of the Montclair police and fire Departments and a guest speaker, and “Taps” performed by Scott Frier.

The public is invited to attend the ceremony. Learn more here.

In Montclair, the victims who died that day were:

• Michael L. Collins, 38
• Caleb Arron Dack, 39
• Emeric J. Harvey, 56
• Scott M. Johnson, 26
• Howard L. Kestenbaum, 56
• Robert M. Murach, 45
• David Lee Pruim, 53
• Ron Ruben, 26
• Michael Stewart, 42

The town’s residents haven’t forgotten the lives lost in 2001, including former town council member Bob Russo, who has been a visitor to the monument in Watchung Plaza on the anniversary of 9/11.

Russo – who was mayor at the time of the attacks – said that he has regularly gathered with Diana Stewart and Lissa Collins to place flowers on the stone that bears the names of the Montclair victims.

“We will never forget the families and the first responders who lived through 9/11 and are still with us here today,” he said.

• Related: Flowers For The Fallen: Montclair Mourns 9/11 Victims
• Related: NJ Theater Company Will Hold 9/11 Tribute Show On 25th Anniversary Of Attacks

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