Remembering September 11

As the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001 approaches, residents throughout Holmdel – together with their fellow Americans everywhere – remember with profound sadness the tragic events of that day and the impact it had on our lives.

All township residents, friends, and families are invited to attend a memorial service will be held on Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. at the Holmdel 9-11 Memorial, located in the Memorial Circle in front of town hall on Crawfords Corner Road. The service will include a recitation of names and the lighting of candles for the community’s lost loved ones. They include Holmdel residents Christopher E. Allingham, Paul V. Barbaro, Evan Jay Baron, Michael P. LaForte, Chih Min “Dennis” Foo, Robert  L. Horohoe,  Jr., Matthew Picerno, Gregory M. Preziose, Gregg Reidy, and Eric Stahlman, as well as immediate family members of Holmdel residents, including Eric T. Allen-FDNY, Peter Paul Apollo, Brett T. Bailey, Dominick E. Calia, Lt. Peter Louis Freund-FDNY, Frederick K. Hahn, Brendan M. Lang, Rosanne P. Lang, Robert  Scandole, Jr., Eric Steen, and James J. Straine, Jr.

Lisa Hettler, chairperson of the Holmdel 9-11 Memorial Foundation, explained that the Holmdel 9-11 Memorial was built and dedicated in 2004, after being beautifully designed by Holmdel resident and artist Kyle Galante. The two hands sculpted by Ms. Galante were cast in bronze to represent the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. The memorial is nine feet tall and 11 feet wide and is made from 90,000 pounds of black granite. The sidewalk around the sculpture depicts the Pentagon, and the four flight numbers of the planes lost are displayed on the granite base. The shields of the fire department, police department, EMS, and Port Authority Police are inscribed next to the names of our loved ones lost. The words displayed below the hands – Freedom, Faith, Hope, Love, Peace, Liberty, Heroism, and Unity – were chosen by the families of the victims. Concealed inside the memorial are letters written by the families to their loved ones. The scene of the World Financial District was meticulously hand etched on the front of the memorial by artist Philip Hagopian of Vermont. A black granite plaque, which is located on the pathway leading to the memorial, was added two years later to give visitors an explanation of the site.

The American flag, along with other flags representing each division of our armed forces – Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard – line the Memorial Circle. Situated under the American flag is another plaque, held aloft by two steel beams from the North Tower and South Tower of the World Trade Center.

“It is truly a beautiful remembrance of those we lost and a tribute to all those who have served and are serving in our military to protect our freedom,” Ms. Hettler stated. “Please join us as we remember.” Residents are also reminded that 1:00 p.m. on September 11, 2011 will be a National Moment of Remembrance.

Reflections and Observances

Several members of the Holmdel community offered their personal reflections about September 11, remembering where they were and what they did as the events unfolded that day, and the effect that continues to be felt. 

Mr. William Loughran, currently the principal of Holmdel High School, recalled, “I was teaching English at the time, and remember the principal making an announcement over the PA system that the World Trade Center had been hit by a plane, and asking for any student who had a parent working there to please report to the main office. Two or three students left immediately. We followed the rest of our schedule for the day, and I remember a TV being set up in the library to follow the coverage. Students and staff would come in during breaks to watch; I just remember the eerie silence of it all. I also recall, though I wasn’t involved directly, a good deal of activity in the building as plans were made to have an adult on every bus at the end of the day, with door-to-door drop-offs to insure no one went home to an empty house. All afterschool activities were cancelled, so I headed home earlier than usual and was surprised by how light traffic was. All kinds of thoughts went through my mind, about the silliest of things (“We’re at war, I won’t be able to get the basic necessities for my two-year-old, my wife is seven months pregnant…”). Later that day, I went up to Mt. Mitchill in Atlantic Highlands, where you could see right into New York. How profoundly sad it all was…”

Mr. Loughran continued, “Since that time, I have been back to Mt. Mitchill with my children to visit the Monmouth County 9-11 memorial, and we discussed what happened on that fateful day. I imagine we will go back between now and the 11th – and we will definitely follow the coverage on that day, as well. Here at the school, we do plan to observe a moment of silence on the 9th, in anticipation of the anniversary, for the victims of this terrible event.”

Holmdel First Aid Chief Lynn Davis explained, “On September 11, 2001, I was a new EMT. I had just become a NJ state certified EMT a few weeks before, in mid-August 2001. I happened to be on a leave of absence for three months at the time from Lucent Technologies, because my father had just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and I was in the process of getting him situated in an assisted living facility in Toms River. I had been to visit my father early in the morning on September 11. I was on my way home on the Garden State Parkway when I heard on the news that a plane had hit the World Trade Center at 8:50 a.m., and then when the second plane hit a little after 9:00 a.m. By the time I got home around 9:30 a.m., all four kids were home or on their way home from school. My husband, who worked for AT&T, was also on his way home, as big businesses in the area like AT&T and Lucent were sending their employees home for the day. By the time my family was gathered at home, both towers had fallen. But like the rest of the world, we hoped that, somehow, most people in the World Trade Center and the EMS who responded had somehow survived.”

Ms. Davis continued, “Holmdel First Aid Squad members were summoned to report for duty at the Centerville Road building late that morning. By around noon or 1:00 p.m., some of the more experienced members who had gathered were asked to report to various locations in the area to do standbys. Some members were asked to stand by at Allaire Airport, because they expected a few commuters might be flying into that airport or that the state might be flying survivors into to the airport. Some members were asked to stand by at the ferries in the Belford and Atlantic Highlands areas to take care of survivors. If I remember correctly, we and other squads in the area were also asked to stand by at the commuter bus station near the PNC Bank Arts Center and at commuter train stations in the area to take care of survivors. I was stationed at Centerville all afternoon. We waited anxiously in the day room, watching TV and listening to reports come in. We were asked to stand by to answer first aid calls for the town of Middletown. To my recollection, we received no “regular” first aid calls, either in Holmdel or Middletown that afternoon. As the afternoon wore on, it became more and more evident that there were not going to be many survivors from the World Trade Center to take care of, either. By around 8:00 p.m. that evening, all the Holmdel First Aid members who were asked to stand by outside of Holmdel returned to Holmdel. By that time, we all moved to the first aid building at Crawfords Corner Road because there was more room there, but it was with very heavy hearts that we did so. No one on the squad had had any contact with any survivor from the World Trade Center that day. By the time we were sent home around 11:00 p.m., it was very obvious that our town (and our neighboring towns) had lost many citizens; we had lost wives, brothers, husbands, sons, daughters, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews. We lost close friends and neighbors. Our children’s friends had lost a parent, soccer coach, or Cub Scout leader. As a new EMT, I was so full of expectations that I would be saving lives on a regular basis. But like every American that day, I felt so useless and so incredibly sad about the human lives lost that day and the families that would have to survive those losses.”

Father Daniel Swift, pastor at St. Benedict Church, noted, “Each September around this time, St. Benedict hosts our parish fair. This year, it seemed appropriate to forego having the fair. I arrived at St. Benedict in October 2005, and for the fifth anniversary observance on September 11, 2006, I asked parishioners to submit the names of those who died and those who were involved in the relief effort, to be included in the prayers at all the masses that day. There were ultimately 150 to 200 names on that list, and they will be included in our prayers for the tenth anniversary masses, as well.” Father Dan explained that, this year, the student mass to celebrate the opening of the new school year will be held on Friday, September 9, and the victims of September 11 will be included in the Prayers of the Faithful that day, also.

On a more personal and poignant note, Father Dan also recalled, “As we were getting ready for the 50th anniversary of St. Benedict in 2009, we were offering parishioners the opportunity to purchase nine stained glass windows that were to be installed in the church. There was one parishioner whose husband had died on September 11 who was interested in buying a window in honor of St. Matthew, which was her husband’s name. I told her that it may be a bit of a stretch, because the main windows were to depict scenes in the life of Jesus and Mary and I wasn’t sure what connection there could be to St. Matthew, but I would look into the possibilities.” With a catch in his voice, Father Dan explained the uniquely special connection to St. Matthew by saying, “After her husband was lost, this woman prayed every day to St. Matthew that his remains would be recovered. Ten days later, on September 21, 2001, she got the call that they had found and were able to identify him. September 21 is the feast day of St. Matthew.” Today, parishioners who look to the last stained glass window on the right in the church will see a scene of the four evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, with Matthew having a more prominent appearance.

At all Masses on the weekend of September 10-11, St. Benedict Parish will once again remember, in a day of prayer, those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks, as well as those who, in the days and months that followed, assisted in the relief effort. Masses will be offered on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. and on Sunday at 8:00, 9:30, 11:00 a.m., and 12:30 p.m. At the conclusion of the 12:30 p.m. Mass on Sunday, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will commence and continue throughout the day, providing time for silent prayer. Adoration will conclude with Benediction at 6:00 p.m. Four flags will also be on display in the church sanctuary, representing the four aircraft that were used to fly into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the field in Pennsylvania. 

Monsignor Eugene Rebeck, pastor of St. Catharine’s Church, stated, “As we commemorate the tenth anniversary of the tragedy of September 11, St. Catharine’s parish will remember this event especially with prayers for world peace. The names of those members of our parish who died on that day will be respectfully read during our Sunday Masses on September 11, as we pray for their families and loved ones. We still recall those grieving families and the pain suffered on that tragic day. We also remember the prayer service held at St. Catharine’s on the following Friday evening, when our church was overflowing with people of all faiths, comforting each other as they prayed for strength and divine help. In the face of such a terrible tragedy, that moment in church brought us together and sent a message of unity and courage to all of us.”