Montclair, Essex County to mark 20th anniversary of 9/11

Montclair and Essex County will each commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

In Montclair, Councilman Bob Russo and other township officials will hold a ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 10 a.m., at the 9/11 memorial in Watchung Plaza.Russo, who was mayor of Montclair at the time of the attacks, will preside over the commemoration. Diana Stewart, who lost her husband Michael Stewart on 9/11, will speak on behalf of Montclair’s 9/11 families.

The event will include musical interludes performed by the Montclair Community Band, a piper playing Amazing Grace, and the march of the police and fire department honor guards to and from the memorial.

A special invocation will accompany the traditional reading of the names of the nine Montclair residents who died on 9/11: Michael L. Collins, Caleb Arron Dack, Emeric J. Harvey, Scott M. Johnson, Howard L. Kestenbaum, Robert M. Murach, David Lee Pruim, Ron Ruben and Michael Stewart.

Essex County will hold the annual "Essex County Remembers" ceremony at the Eagle Rock Reservation 9/11 memorial at 8 a.m. The ceremony will be live-streamed at essexcountynj.org and at facebook.com/EssexCountyExecJoeD

“After the attacks, people spontaneously came to Eagle Rock Reservation to view the tragedy unfold at the Twin Towers and leave cards, letters, photos and flowers in an impromptu memorial in honor of their loved ones," Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said. "I knew immediately that this was the natural location for a memorial because of the public attraction to this site and the unparalleled view of the World Trade Center from the lookout area. Our Sept. 11 Memorial is a special place for people to come for solace and comfort because of its unique location and its powerful message of peace and hope."

The program will include family members who lost loved ones in the tragedies, elected officials and clergy members from diverse religious faiths. Memorial wreaths will be laid at the monument and a new American flag will be raised. A string quartet will perform reverent selections of music at the memorial site after the ceremony until 2 p.m.