This weekend thousands of Hoboken residents will travel to various points around New Jersey and New York to spend time with friends and family. Although we all appreciate this three-day weekend as the unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day is a time to reflect upon the sacrifices made by our men and women in the U.S. armed services to protect our freedom. I hope not only that the Hoboken community will take time out to salute those who have fallen on the battlefield, I hope we also will remember our friends, neighbors, and loved ones who we lost on September 11, 2001.
Enough cannot be said about our men and women in uniform. More than 1.3 million Americans are on active duty around the world, each one of them sacrificing themselves in some way or other so that we can enjoy the lives that we lead. Especially now as our armed forces are engaged in Afghanistan as a result of 9/11, those who have lost their lives while defending our nation and our way of life truly deserve to be honored for paying the ultimate price.
This Memorial Day, however, the Hoboken friends and family members we lost on 9/11 are equally deserving of our thoughts and prayers. These men and women, most of whom were just beginning the best parts of their lives, are casualties in a war being waged against our very way of life. Our city has been greatly diminished by the loss of more than 50 of our closest friends and loved ones, and I hope the citizens of Hoboken will join me in remembering them.
Equally important, I call on the Hoboken business community to step forward and embrace our Hoboken neighbors who lost those closest to them during the tragedy of 9/11. I have spoken with many family members, and I believe they very much would appreciate gestures by local Hoboken businesses to offer free or discounted products and services. Such gestures cannot ever adequately compensate these families for their terrible loss, but together we can let them know that their community cares and that we would like to make things just a little easier.
Examples of helpful services include, but are not limited to, manicures, haircuts, legal services, other professional services, and car maintenance services. Any business owner who is willing and able to take on this worthy pursuit can call my office at (201) 420-2013.
Every Memorial Day is an occasion to reflect on the sacrifices of our military servicemen and women. This Memorial Day, I hope the community will join me in reflecting on the losses suffered by our friends and neighbors as a result of 9/11.