FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Warren County) — Hundreds gathered Friday as Warren County marked the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks with its annual Patriot Day ceremony at the Warren County Emergency Services and 9/11 Memorial.
Residents, students from Warren County Technical School, firefighters, police officers and other first responders attended the ceremony, which remembered the four Warren County residents who died in the World Trade Center attacks.
The ceremony also honored county first responders, including state and local police officers, firefighters and rescue squad members, who have died in the line of duty since the 1800s.
Those attending included Warren County Commissioner Director Lori Ciesla and Commissioner James R. Kern III; Prosecutor Jessica Cardone and Chief of Detectives Brenton Warne; Correctional Police Warden Daniel Broesder; Public Safety Director Dennis Riley; Belvidere Mayor Kathleen Miers; and Washington Township Mayor George Willan. Joseph Lake Jr. served as master of ceremonies.
The keynote speaker, New Jersey State Police Sgt. First Class Lance Visone, recalled that in 2001 he was nearing graduation with an engineering degree and had an internship at the World Trade Center. Visone said he did not go to work on Sept. 11 because friends were visiting and that numerous co-workers died in the attacks.
The experience led him to change direction and look for a way to serve in the military or law enforcement, eventually joining the New Jersey State Police.
“It wasn’t about vengeance, it was about love and caring for my community and my state and the people I worked with, the people that perished. It was about honoring theme, moving forward and living,” Visone said.
Wreaths were placed at the memorial, which includes a steel beam from one of the Twin Towers, in remembrance of the four Warren County residents who died in the attacks: Deepa K. Pakkala of Greenwich Township; Bruce A. Reynolds of Knowlton Township, a Knowlton firefighter and Port Authority patrolman; Bruce E. Simmons of Hackettstown; and Robert C. Miller Jr. of Belvidere.
Additional wreaths were placed to commemorate Warren County first responders who died in the line of duty.
