In Toms River, 9/11 Heroes, Victims Remembered 19 Years Later

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Ocean County Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari remembers the fears expressed as parents pulled up to his school on Sept. 11, 2001, to pick up their children and bring them home.

Vicari was the principal at Veterans Memorial Middle School then, overseeing the Brick Township school that served 1,350 students, on the day that now is burned in the memories of those who were old enough to remember it.

As the reality of the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the thwarted attack that crashed United Flight 93 in a field in Pennsylvania sank in, parents rushed to the middle school — and schools throughout the area — to bring their children home, where they had some sense of safety.

"I never forgot the fear in parents as they came to pick up their children," Vicari said Friday as Ocean County officials and residents remembered the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the terrorist attacks 19 years ago. "They questioned why we were being attacked."

In the days that followed, Americans came together to help each other, from the first responders who answered the calls for help at Ground Zero to the neighbors who helped each other in smaller ways.

"People began to realize what’s important to them – it’s family, children, moms, dads coming together. This day reminds us of what life is all about," he said.

It's a day that those alive at the time have vowed to never forget. But some in attendance at both the county's ceremony and the one that followed in downtown Toms River expressed dismay at the low attendance at the morning services.

Vicari, who noted that children are in school now, said it's important that they learn about what happened, not only from history books but from those who were alive.

"It's important to tell this story to our children," Vicari said.

"We pay tribute to all the families that were forever broken," said Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer.

He also shared the story of Joe Torrillo, a NYFD firefighter who survived the collapse of the towers — a story Torrillo shared in an appearance at the Ocean County Library in 2019.

"9-11 created hundreds if not thousands of stories we should never forget," Billhimer said.

It was the sacrifices of the first responders — 343 firefighters, 71 members of law enforcement — who were highlighted in particular in the Toms River Township ceremony that followed the Ocean County service.

Led by Toms River Fire Companies 1 and 2, the Toms River service at the Fireman's Memorial highlighted the heroes who ran to help — and suffered consequences because of their selflessness, in illnesses that arose later on.

Mayor Maurice Hill and Councilwoman Laurie Huryk both emphasized that the sacrifices — and the way Americans came together afterward — needs to be remembered and brought forward amid the challenges that face the country currently. (You can watch the Toms River service below).

Toms River firefighters ran the station's bell five times, which signifies the end of a shift, Toms River Fire Company 1 Chief Chris Vicidomini said.

At both services, officials thanked the firefighters and police and emergency medical technicians for their efforts to help those in need on Sept. 11, 2001, and in the days that followed.

Rev. Peter Hartney, who spoke at the county service, said those alive now play an important role in keeping the memories alive of all those who perished.

"We still have the time to tell their stories, lest we ever forget," Hartney said.

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