Still standing

Numerous New York metropolitan area communities hold annual Sept. 11 memorial services. Not all suffered the loss of a hometown resident in the terrorist attacks launched 23 years ago.

Two that did – Middlesex Borough and Dunellen – held a joint 9/11 service on Wednesday at the former town’s Victor Crowell Park. It was the third consecutive year the municipalities held a combined service.

Police, firefighters, other first responders and local elected officials honored the victims who lost their lives in the attacks, those who fell prey to illness contracted during rescue and recovery efforts, and currently serving military members.

Middlesex’s Thomas Gorman and Dunellen’s Lydia Bravo perished on 9/11 in New York City. Gorman, 41, was a member of Port Authority Emergency Service Unit. He was responding to the World Trade Center after terrorists flew jet airliners into the facility. Bravo, 50, was a corporate nurse RN employed at the World Trade Center’s North Tower.

The respective mayors of Dunellen and Middlesex – Jason Cilento and Jack Mikolajczyk – commented on the meaning of the day.

Cilento recalled that 9/11 began “like any other day” with “no indication of the tragedy that was about to unfold.”

“More than two decades have gone by and we still feel the effects of 9/11,” Cilento said.

“In the wake of these horrible events, we came together as a nation to mourn, to remember and to find the strength to carry on,” he said. “It’s important to reflect on the endurance of the human spirit, specifically the American spirit. We are a nation built on resilience and in the face of tragedy, we came together like never before, and found a renewed sense of compassion and strength.”

The memory of Bravo and other victims , Cilento said, “will forever live in our hearts.”

“Even in the face of unimaginable loss,” he said, “we can find the strength in ourselves and in one another to carry on for a brighter and more united future. Despite our differences, we must never forget that above all, we are bonded together as Americans.”

Mikoolajczyk said “the world as we knew it changed forever” on 9/11. Terrorists, he added, attempted to destroy Americans’ feeling of being safe in their home country.

it was fitting, he said, to remember the lives lost that day and honor first responders. “It’s important that we never forget,” Mikolajczyk said.

On 9/11, he added, Innocent lives were “ended by evil despicable acts.”

“We are resilient and we”re right to be so,” Mikolajczyk said, “but you also need to be vigilant, pay attention and not be apathetic to what’s going on around us.”

“This is a time for active citizenship, not apathy,” he said.

Reminder

Subscribe to Inside – Middlesex. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. It is absolutely free.

Visit Inside – Middlesex on our new Facebook page.