Patriot Day Will Pay Tribute To Attack Victims

COUNTY
The Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders invites all residents to join with them on Sept. 11, at 5 p.m. to remember and honor those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks 13 years ago on Sept. 11, 2001.
The ceremony will take place in front of the main entrance of the William E. Sturm Administration Building at 4 Moore Road, Court House. The U.S. Coast Guard ceremonial detail will mark the solemn occasion.
Cape May County government joins organizations and individuals across the nation, to pay tribute to the brave men and women who responded to the tragedy that day, and to honor the memory of all who perished in the three attacks on America.
As part of the remembrance on Sept. 11, Cape May County government will remember the exact time when the first airplane hit One World Trade Center in New York by lowering flags at all government and judicial buildings exactly at 8:46 a.m. to commemorate the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy.
Participating in the flag-lowering ceremony will be students from the Cape May County Technical School District will lower the flag at the school located at 188 Crest Haven Road, Cape May County Sheriff’s Color Guard will lower the American flag at the Court Building Complex, 9 N. Main St., Court House.
Employees of Cape May County government, representing veterans and first responders, will lower the flags at all other county buildings, including the Administration Building at 4 Moore Road.
CAPE MAY
Cape May will hold a Sept. 11 remembrance ceremony at Cape May Cove, located at the end of the promenade, Sept. 11 at 6:15 p.m.
COAST GUARD:
Local Coast Guardsmen will help surrounding communities in South Jersey remember the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, by supporting several Patriots’ Day celebrations Thursday.
Coast Guardsmen from Training Center Cape May are scheduled to support three remembrance ceremonies by providing color guards, buglers or keynote speakers at the events. Each of these ceremonial services will serve as a key element to the many local remembrance ceremonies being held in the area.
“Today, reflecting on where we were that day, and how far we, as a nation, have come in the wake of that tragedy, is a responsibility we all bear,” said Capt. Todd Prestidge, commanding officer of Training Center Cape May. “Taking time to pause ensures that we truly never forget and we continue to build ourselves up as people, as a community and as a nation.”
The command of Coast Guard Training Center Cape May will participate in the City of Cape May’s Patriot Day Ceremony at the Cove located at the intersection of Second Street and Beach Avenue at 6 p.m. Prestidge will speak at the ceremony, and Coast Guard recruits and training center staff will provide a bugler and a formation of recruits. Cmdr. Christopher Fronk, a Coast Guard chaplain, will deliver the invocation for the ceremony.
Coast Guardsmen will be participating in the Cape May County Board of Freeholders 9/11 Memorial Ceremony in Cape May Court House, N.J., at 5 p.m. The training center will be providing a bugler, a ceremonial firing party and a color guard for the event.
Coast Guardsmen will also attend a Patriots Day ceremony at Sunset Beach in Lower Township, N.J., where Cmdr. Joe Meuse, executive officer for the Training Center, will speak at 6 p.m. and a bugler will play Taps.
STONE HARBOR
“Freedom Park” will be officially dedicated on Sept. 11 at 11 a.m.
A ceremony is scheduled that will include special prayers from local churches, bagpiper performance and gun salute ended by a bugle rendition of Taps.
Special guests will include Assemblyman Samuel Fiocchi (R-1st), Sen. Jeff Van Drew and Assemblyman Robert Andrzejczak (both D-1st).
Keynote speaker, Stephen Kern, of NY/NJ Port Authority, will provide a brief description of his recollection of that fateful day and his continued efforts to “Never Forget.”
Stone Harbor secured a small section of an I-beam from the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey that was recovered from the World Trade Center site in New York City following the attack on the United States.
This artifact will be forever displayed at the site in honor of the victims, heroes and families who were directly impacted on that fateful day.
The park includes a small civic gathering place with tables and benches surrounded by landscaping. This area provides a setting for visitors to pay tribute and will offer a symbol of tranquility and remembrance.
The Stone Harbor Freedom Park was funded in part by an Open Space Grant awarded by the Cape May County freeholders and created by Taylor Design Group Inc.
Landscaping was donated by Garden Greenhouse. The entire project was overseen by Remington Vernick Engineers.
Commemorative plaques listing names of sponsors who donated to this project will be displayed at the memorial. Donations received from the public will be used to enhance and maintain the park for generations to come.
The free standing wall will also feature a special plaque with the inscription: “This park is dedicated to celebrate the freedoms that we enjoy as Americans, and to honor the commitments of those who provide and protect those freedoms. The steel artifact was retrieved from the World Trade Center in New York City after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It symbolizes the sorrow and travail that we must sometimes endure in pursuit of freedom and independence.”
Stone Harbor Freedom Park is just east of the Fireman’s Memorial, steps away from Stone Harbor Borough Hall.
SUPERIOR COURT
Superior Court will host a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at the Historic Courthouse, 8:46 a.m. Sept. 11. Joining will be Cape May County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard, Eugene Haggins, courthouse volunteer. Remarks will be delivered by Superior Court Assignment Judge Julio L. Mendez. Keynote remarks on “The Importance of Service” by James B. Arsenault, assistant county counsel, and Daniel G. Tracy, esquire. Samantha S. Wolf, president, Atlantic County Bar Association, and Jeffrey D. Lindsay, president, Cape May County Bar Association will give closing remarks. Howard H. Berchtold, Jr., trial court administrator, will sing “God Bless America.”
LOWER TOWNSHIP
Lower Township will honor those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001 with a sunset flag ceremony.
The ceremony is scheduled for at 6 p.m. at Sunset Beach by the flag pole at the end of Sunset Boulevard.
The casket flag of Paul Pansini, a New York City firefighter who lost his life at the World Trade Center, will be flown during the ceremony.
When Pansini joined the fire department in 1991, he was assigned to Engine Co. 10 in Manhattan, one of the firehouses closest to the World Trade Center.
He served for six years in the Naval Reserve.
In 1988 he joined the former New York City Transit Authority Police Department before going to the fire department. He also served as a delegate to the Uniformed Firefighters Association.
Pansini was a husband and father to three children and remembered as “the kind of guy who would do anything for anyone.” So when Midtown’s Engine Co. 26 called for an extra man on Sept. 11, he volunteered.
When he arrived, he didn’t even have time to sign in, because the company was responding to the fire caused by the attack on the World Trade Center.
Marvin Hume, a World War II veteran, has paid tribute to those killed on Sept. 11 since 2003. He has led sunset flag ceremonies for more than 40 years between Memorial Day and Labor Day at Sunset Beach.
Firefighters from Lower Township volunteer fire companies will attend the ceremony along with members of the Lower Township Police Department and Lower Township Rescue Squad.
Cape May Point and West Cape May volunteer fire companies, members of the Coast Guard and the Red Knights, an international firefighter’s motorcycle club, will also attend the event.
NORTH WILDWOOD
Mayor Patrick T. Rosenello has announced that North Wildwood will host a 9/11 Memorial Service at 8:40 a.m. Sept. 11 at 15th and Central avenues, outside of 15th Street Volunteer Fire Company. The Mayor reminds residents that this is a community event, which will honor all those who lost their lives during the terrorist attacks. Various community and religious leaders are expected to attend the Patriot Day ceremony. This is a change in venue, 15th and Central avenues, not the lawn outside of City Hall.
OCEAN CITY
The city will hold its Sept. 11 commemoration ceremony at 7 p.m. at Ocean City Fire Headquarters, 550 Asbury Ave. All are invited to attend.
SEA ISLE CITY
Sea Isle City’s Patriot Day Ceremony will commemorate the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The annual gathering will take place at 9 a.m. at Veterans Park, JFK Boulevard and Landis Avenue, will be led by Sea Isle City Mayor Leonard Desiderio and attended by numerous officials from the municipality and Cape May County. The public is invited to attend.
SEAVILLE
A Patriot Day service will be held at the Sgt. William R.Godfrey Memorial Park at Osprey Point, Seaville, at 10 a.m. Sept. 11. The service will be hosted by Osprey Point resident, Aldo Palombo.
Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Craig Cosgrave, a resident of Osprey Point, will speak about his experiences and recollections of 9/11.
Cosgrave was commander of N.J. Air National Guard, on the fateful day. Under his direction, his troops rapidly mobilized and initiated round-the-clock operations that continued for months as part of Operation Noble Eagle.
Commander Charles Adelizzi of VFW Post 8695 and Commander Hermon Scheinbine of American Legion Post 239 will lead the flag salute.
Upper Township fire and rescue squads will be represented by personnel and a display of equipment. All are welcome to attend this service to remember and honor those who have fallen or suffered grievous harm on that day of disaster.
In the event of inclement weather, the service will be held in the Osprey Point Clubhouse, 1731 Route 9, Seaville.
WILDWOOD CREST
The Borough of Wildwood Crest will host a 9/11 Memorial Service Sept. 11 at 5:30 p.m. at Miami and New Jersey avenues, adjacent to Sunset Lake.
Various community and religious leaders are expected to attend the Patriot Day ceremony, which will honor all who lost their lives during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
One of those who lost their lives that day was borough native Andrew Alameno, 37. He was a trader with Cantor Fitzgerald. He was a Westfield resident with his wife and children.