Union County to Commemorate September 11th Attacks

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders invites members of the public to attend a special ceremony to honor the memory of the 60 Union County residents killed in the attacks of September 11, 2001, and to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the event. The ceremony will be held at the Union County September 11th Memorial in Echo Lake Park, in Mountainside, beginning at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 11.

In conjunction with the ceremony, the New York Blood Center will conduct a blood drive near the Memorial from 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

“We hope that the donation of blood – literally giving part of oneself for the sake of a perfect stranger – will be an experience that helps to knit the Union County community more closely together on the anniversary of this tragic day, strengthens our respect for all life, and reaffirms the value we place on freedom and liberty as universal human rights,” said Alexander Mirabella, Vice Chairman of the Freeholder Board.

The Union County September 11th Memorial is located near the Springfield Avenue entrance of Echo Lake Park on the border of Mountainside and Springfield. Dedicated on September 13, 2003, it was constructed through private donations including in-kind work by labor unions and materials at cost.

The names of the 60 deceased Union County residents are etched into the memorial. The memorial also honors all those affected in the multiple attacks,  through  design  elements  that  include  two  girders from the World

Trade Center arranged within a five-sided area representing the Pentagon, and an Eternal Flame representing those who died in Pennsylvania.

The Eternal Flame also honors the members of the Armed Services and emergency responders.

In addition to the ceremony at the Memorial, Echo Lake Park will host a display of 343 American flags from Friday, September 9 through Monday, September 12, 2011. The display is sponsored by the Union County Fire Chiefs’ Association to memorialize the 343 New York City firefighters who perished at the World Trade Center, and to honor the legacy of service that all firefighters continue to practice.

The Freeholder Board worked with residents of Cranford, Elizabeth, Kenilworth, Linden, Mountainside, Rahway, Scotch Plains, Summit, Union, and Westfield in planning and building the Union County September 11th Memorial.

Union County residents killed in the attacks of September 11, 2001:

Patrick Murphy, Berkeley Heights

Scott Hazelcorn, Berkeley Heights

James A. Nelson, Clark

Gregory Milanowycz, Cranford

Thomas Michael Regan, Cranford

Robert Henry Lynch, Cranford

Christopher Michael Grady, Cranford

Dean Philip Eberling, Cranford

Leonard Joseph Snyder, Jr., Cranford

Arcelia Castillo, Elizabeth

Carlos S. DaCosta, Elizabeth

Colleen Laura Fraser, Elizabeth

Margaret Susan Lewis, Elizabeth

Frankie Serrano, Elizabeth

Anthony Tempesta, Elizabeth

Robert Kaulfers, Kenilworth

John J. Tobin, Kenilworth

Wanda Anita Green, Linden

Anthony Infante, Mountainside

William Tselepis, Jr., New Providence

Gerard J. Coppola, New Providence

Richard A. Dunstan, New Providence

Michael Gogliormella, New Providence

Robert Wayne Hobson, III, New Providence

Susan D. Murray, New Providence

Tyrone May, Rahway

Manette Marie Beckles, Rahway

Mark Stephen Carney, Rahway

John G. Ueltzhoeffer, Roselle Park

Matthew Horning, Scotch Plains

Mark Rothenberg, Scotch Plains

James Walsh, Scotch Plains

JoAnn L. Heltibridle, Springfield

Lee Adler, Springfield

Thomas R. Clark, Summit

James Lee Connor, Summit

Kevin Raymond Crotty, Summit

Thomas I. Glasser, Summit

Robert A. Lawrence, Jr., Summit

A. Todd Rancke, Summit

Clive “Ian” Thompson, Summit

David Brian Brady, Summit

Mark Bruce, Summit

Robert Alan Hepburn, Union

Edward Calderon, Union

Khalid M. Shahid, Union

Charles Karczewski, Union

Brian Frederic Goldberg, Union

Thomas J. Fisher, Union

Wing-Wai Ching, Union

Bella Bhukhan, Union

Wayne Alan Russo, Union

Andrew J. Alameno, Westfield

Michael A. Davidson, Westfield

Stephen Mark Fogel, Westfield

Leo Russell Keene, III, Westfield

Richard B. Madden, Westfield

John “Pepe” Salerno, Jr., Westfield

See-Wong Shum, Westfield

Anthony Starita, Westfield