Many area events will be held to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11, new memorial to be dedicated in Princeton

Princeton area residents and people with Princeton ties who died in the Sept. 11 attacks who will always be remembered by their loved ones and their communities: Mukul Agarwala, Michael Bane, Colleen Barkow, Lorraine Bay, Todd Beamer, Debbie Bellows, Jim Berger, Bill Bethke, Anil Bharvaney, Jeffrey Chairnoff, Peter Chirchirillo, Catherine Chirls, Linda Colon, Michael Cunningham, Jeannine Damiani-Jones, Robert Devitt Jr., William Fallon, Jeffrey Fox, Pamela Gaff, William Godshalk, Steven Goldstein, Richard Guadagno, Donald Havlish, Brian Hennessey, Donald Jones, William Hill Kelly, Andrew King, Neil Lai, Ruth Lapin, Steven Lawn, Joseph Lostrangio, Dan Maher, Patrick Murphy, Louis J. Nacke, M. Phillip Parker, Tu-Anh Pham, Jim Potorti, Edward R. Pykon, Michele Reed, Frank Reisman, Joshua Reiss, Jeffrey Robinson, John Ryan, Victor Saracini, Larry Senko, David Suarez, Susan Schuler, Toyena Skinner, James White, Suresh Yanamadala, and Kevin York.

The steel beam from the World Trade Center at the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad building. Photo courtesy of William Shields.

Princeton’s new 9/11 memorial will be dedicated at the Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad at noon on Saturday during a remembrance ceremony for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The anchor of the memorial, a nine-foot steel beam from the World Trade Center, was brought from New York to Princeton back in the spring of 2012 by a group of firefighters and motorcyclists led by firefighters Roy James and William Shields. The beam remained in storage for several years. A small cross had been cut into the beam, and at the time, local elected officials were reluctant to include the beam in a memorial because of the cross. A group of atheists also threatened to sue if the beam was displayed on public property. The beam was stored in the back of the Princeton Hook & Ladder facility on Harrison Street, and then a few years ago, it was brought to Engine Company No. 1, where it was draped with an American Flag and put on display. The Princeton September 11th Memorial Committee worked to find a permanent home for the beam and a place where victims of the attacks could be honored and remembered in Princeton. A special area was dedicated to the memorial at the new Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad building.

The memorial includes plaques describing the events of the day and mileage to the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the Shanksville, Pa. crash sites. During the ceremony, the names of the Princeton community members who were lost will be read and first responders will be honored. The ceremony is open to the public. Organizers said attendees should park in the Community Park lot located across from the Princeton Fire Department on Witherspoon Street. Handicapped parking will be available across from the memorial site, at the lower parking lot of the Princeton Municipal Building, which can be accessed from Valley Road.

Other Princeton 9/11 events

An interfaith service to remember the Princeton University alums who perished in the attacks will be held on Sept. 11 at 10 a.m. at the 9/11 Memorial Garden located between Nassau Hall and Chancellor Green. In addition to prayers offered by religious leaders, Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber will speak at the service.

9/11, 20 Years Later: A World Forever Changed – Panel at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 9 will feature Gen. John Rutherford Allen, USMC (Ret.), president of the Brookings Institution, former commander of the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and U.S. Forces in Afghanistan; Razia Iqbal, anchor, NewsHour, BBC World Service; Amb. Daniel Kurtzer, the S. Daniel Abraham Professor of Middle East Policy Studies at the School, and former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Egypt; and Jacob Shapiro, a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton, and director of the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project. Register at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, Center for International Security Studies website at spia.princeton.edu.

The Princeton Public Library will host a staged reading and discussion on Thursday, Sept. 9. “After the Dust Settles” explores three stories of unresolved grief, healing, and renewal following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. The drama by New Jersey playwright Jason Immordino will be read from 6 to 8 p.m. in the library’s community room.

The Princeton Senior Resource Center will offer a Sept. 11 tribute on Thursday, Sept. 9, at 11 a.m. Registration is required. The event includes a virtual tour of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City and a discussion about 9/11 hosted by Donald Benjamin. Participants will have the opportunity to share their memories, thoughts, and feelings about the attacks and their aftermath.

Cranbury

Cranbury Day, which takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 11, will begin with a remembrance of those who lost their lives on 9/11.

Franklin

A 20th anniversary Patriot Day ceremony will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 11 at the Municipal Complex at 475 DeMott Lane in the Somerset section of Franklin.

Hamilton

Hamilton Township will hold its annual remembrance ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday, September 11 at the Memorial Grove inside the Klockner Road entrance of Veterans Park. The ceremony will be held rain or shine.

Hillsborough

A memorial ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. on Sept. 11 at the Woods Road Fire House in the 9/11 Memorial Garden at 324 Woods Road, Hillsborough.

Hopewell Township

A ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. Sept. 11 in Woolsey Park.

Lawrence

A township memorial service will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 11 at Memorial Park on Pilla Avenue.

Rider University will commemorate the anniversary with a Sept. 9 talk by former Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker, a 1983 Rider graduate who led Pennsylvania’s response to the attack on United Flight 93 in Shanksville. The event will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Mercer Room in Daly Dining Hall, 2083 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrenceville.

Montgomery

Three services will be held in Montgomery Township.

A remembrance service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 11, Montgomery Township Volunteer Fire Department #2, 9/11 Memorial, 529 Route 518, Skillman.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sept. 11, a volunteer tree planting event will be held in memory of those who lost their lives. The event will take place at Hobler Park, across from the Cherry Valley Country Club, 1645 Great Road (Route 601), Skillman. Sign up in advance and select a one-hour service time. To register, email Open Space Coordinator Lauren Wasilauski at LWasilauski@twp.montgomery.nj.us or call 908-533-9302.

A wreath-laying service will take place at 4 p.m. Sept. 11 at the 9/11 Memorial at Montgomery Veteran’s Park on Harlingen Road in the Belle Mead section of the township.

Plainsboro

At 10 a.m. on Sept. 11, a remembrance service will be held at the 9/11 memorial behind the municipal complex. In case of rain, the memorial will be held inside by the court near the Steel Memorial from the 9/11 site.

Robbinsville

The local Professional Firefighters Association also will host a memorial ceremony at 9:45 a.m. Sept. 11 at the Robbinsville Township 9/11 memorial site on Lake Drive in Town Center near the intersection of Hutchinson Road. 

Rocky Hill

A remembrance service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 11 at Panicaro Park on Crescent Avenue.

South Brunswick

The South Brunswick High School Marching Band, South Brunswick Police Honor Guard, the South Brunswick Fire Departments Honor Guard, and the South Brunswick Police bagpiper, along with religious leaders and government officials, will participate in the service. The service is will be held on Saturday, 11 a.m. at the South Brunswick Municipal Complex, 540 Ridge Road, Monmouth Junction.

West Windsor

Mercer County Community College and Mercer County will hold a 20th-anniversary remembrance ceremony on Friday, Sept. 10, starting at 11 a.m. on the college’s West Windsor Campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road. Seating will be set up outside the welcome center on the MCCC Quad. The ceremony will be livestreamed at www.mccc.edu/9-11.  In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be livestreamed only. All visitors are asked to wear a mask while on campus. People who have not been vaccinated must fill out the college’s symptom tracker form 3 to 12 hours prior to arrival. The guest speaker is Major General (retired) Robert A. Karmazin, director of police for Hopewell Township.

A remembrance ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. Sept. 11 at the Memorial Twin Ponds at the Ronald R. Rogers Arboretum, which is located at the intersection of Clarksville Road and Princeton-Highstown Road.