Hunterdon County 9-11 ceremony remembers first responders lost and recognizes their risks today
Brown was joined by Acting Prosecutor Mike Williams, guest speaker Senator Mike Doherty, county and local officials, law enforcement officers, Rescue Squad members, volunteer Fire Fighters, and Veterans from throughout the county at the annual Remembrance event, on the steps of the Historic Courthouse in Flemington.
Brown said that while others in the state had canceled or taken their 9-11 events virtual, “For me there was no question – remembering the loss of life, particularly the 16 residents of Hunterdon County who perished, the sacrifices of the first responders on that horrific day 19 years ago, and the way it has changed our nation, in my opinion, is too important not to hold this remembrance in person.
The gathering, spread out on the Courthouse steps to observe social distancing and with many wearing American Flag face coverings, was told by Senator Mike Doherty, a U.S. Army veteran and graduate of West Point, “I commend Sheriff Brown for organizing the memorial event to remember the victims of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, as well as the first responders who gave their lives to aid their fellow man.”
“Remembers the 16 residents of Hunterdon County whose lives were taken, the nearly 400 first responders; fire fighters, law enforcement officers, and EMT’s, who lost their lives that day trying to save others, those lost at the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon, on American Airlines Flights 11 and 77, and United Airlines Flight 175, and the brave souls aboard United Airlines Flight 93, who gave their lives stopping the use of their plane for the terrorist attack,” Brown said.
“The passing of time fogs some people’s memories. So, we must also remember that on September 11, 2001, this nation was attacked. On this there is no fog of memory for me – it was a terrorist attack that murdered thousands, by enemies of our nation, of our values, of our freedoms, and of our way of life,” Brown said.
The ceremony climaxed with the tolling of the Historic Courthouse’s bell, sixteen times for the sixteen Hunterdon County residents killed in the attack on September 11, 2001, and a moving rendition of Amazing Grace, by bagpiper James Curry of the Somerset Pipes and Drum Corps.
Dan Torrone, the popular Master of Ceremonies for the Hunterdon 4-H Fair, served in that capacity at the 9-11 event, while the Reverend David Errickson of Old Rocks Church provided the invocation and benediction, opening and closing the ceremony.
The Hunterdon County 9-11 Remembrance Ceremony was re-instituted by Sheriff Brown in 2017.
