North Bergen and Guttenberg officials, respectively, held their annual remembrance ceremonies for those lives lost on September 11th, 2001, earlier today.Â
“The memories of what happened that day will indelibly be in our minds the way they were for other generations [like] Pearl Harbor or the assassination of President Kennedy,” began Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise at this morning’s event at James J. Braddock Park.
” … It’s our job to keep the meaning of this day, and to keep its impact [alive] for a long, long time.”
The event, which was emceed by Board of Chosen Freeholders Chairman Anthony Vainieri (D-8), was well attended by first responders such as firefighters from North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue, North Bergen police officers and Hudson County Sheriff Frank Schillari.
“Not only were people going to their normal day of work, business, law enforcement officers lost their lives trying to save the people at the World Trade Center. There are still law enforcement officer, firemen, who are suffering from that day and still passing away,” Schillari said.
State Senator (D-32)/North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco acknowledged Port Authority Police Officer Chris Amoroso and Sal Tieri as the two township residents who perished in the tragedy – both of whom had family on hand for the ceremony.
A few blocks away at Guttenberg Town Hall, Mayor Wayne Zitt noted that he was a close personal friend of Amoroso, yet still tried to see the positivity in what occurred on that fateful day.
“17 years ago, I witnessed the power of the community, the love and dedication of our first responders, and the servicemen and women in the ways in which shared grief can united us. Many of us remember that day: we lost friends, we lost family members, who we grieve today,” he recalled.
Zitt, whose son Devin was born on September 11th, 2010, also recognized Lt. Robert Cirri, a Port Authority police officer who died as the result of the terrorist attack.
Guttenberg Municipal Administrator Cosmo Cirillo added that the corner of 68th Street and Hudson Avenue, the intersection where the Cirri family still lives, has had a new street sign erected in Robert Cirri’s honor.
Both ceremonies streamed live on our Facebook page and can be viewed below:
North Bergen
Guttenberg
