Monmouth County holds remembrance at Mount Mitchell, reads names of 147 local 9/11 victims

Monmouth County officials and community members gathered at Mount Mitchell to honor county residents who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Speakers described the county’s 911 Memorial and read the names of local victims as part of a formal remembrance.

The ceremony included a timeline narration accompanying bell rings that marked key moments of the attacks — including the flights that struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the crash of United Flight 93 — followed by a moment of silence. County organizers invited family members and the public to place roses at the monument.

A representative invited attendees to write to state and federal officials to support making the date a county day of remembrance. Reverend Joseph Donnelly and members of Knights of Columbus Council 11660 of Highlands presented flowers at the monument. County park rangers then raised the American flag, and taps were played as a final salute.

Transcript text lists the memorial as having been “dedicated in 02/1955”; the date in the record appears inconsistent with the timeline given and is not stated elsewhere in the program. County speakers said the Monmouth County 911 Committee was formed in 2002 to plan a fitting tribute to victims and first responders.

The observance combined educational remarks about the memorial’s symbolic components — a timeline walkway, a stone base bearing names and an eagle sculpture incorporating a beam from a fallen tower — with ceremonial elements intended to preserve memory across generations. Organizers said this was the third year the county coordinated a day of remembrance for county workers and the public.

The program closed with instructions for participants to place roses at the monument and a call to continue teaching younger generations about the day’s impact.