Secaucus will hold its Town Memorial Ceremony in remembrance of 9/11 on Sunday, Sept. 11, at the monument on the grounds of the library at 1 p.m.
The town will join the national “Moment of Remembrance” and will sound sirens and ring church bells in unison with the rest of the country as residents take a moment to remember the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Program and service
Members of the police and fire departments, armed forces, Knights of Columbus, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, the Town Council, and officials will be present at the ceremony and service. The ceremony will begin with the entrance of honor guards accompanied by Amazing Grace played on bagpipes.
“We resolve to remember them always and do good deeds in their memory.”
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Secaucus High School Chorus graduates will sing the National Anthem. Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion will lay wreaths at the monument.
Mike Machinski will read the inscription on the monument. The town will present a remembrance gift to family members of those who perished on 9/11. Brian Beckmeyer will play Taps.
The ceremony will be followed by an interdenominational prayer service. The opening prayer will be given by Deacon Earle S. Connelly, Jr.
Other readers at the service include Rev. Barbara Lewis from The Episcopal Church of Our Savior, Rev. Patterson from First Reformed Church, Rev. Nancy Ruckert from St. Matthew Evangelical Lutheran Church, Rev. Craig Harris from Quimby Church, and Rev. Joseph Pietropinto from Immaculate Conception Church.
The service will conclude with “God Bless America” by Irving Berlin.
Remembering lives lost in the tragedy
Secaucus lost six people who either grew up or lived in the town during the attack on the World Trade Center. During the ceremony, local children will read the names of the victims, which are: Arlene Babakitis, Richard Cudina, Nancy Perez, Kenneth Simon, Steven Strobert, and Michael Tanner.
Their biographies are as follows:
Arlene Babakitis worked on the 64th floor of the North Tower for the Port Authority. She was 47 years old and the loving mother of two sons, Vincent and Kevin. Babakitis was born and raised on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. She has two sisters, Karen Reoch and Evelyn L. Pettigano.
Richard Cudina was on the 105th floor of the North Tower working as a broker with Cantor Fitzgerald when the airplane struck the building. He was 46 years old at the time. He and his wife Georgia lived in Harmon Cove for a number of years before moving to Glen Gardner. He grew up in Cliffside Park, and is the third of four sons of Anthony and Joy Cudina.
Nancy Perez worked on the 64th floor of the North Tower as a supervisor for the Port Authority. She was 36 years old at the time of the attacks and had just moved to Secaucus from Union City. She is one of three sisters. Her family moved to Hudson County after fleeing Cuba in 1970.
Kenneth Simon was a 34-year-old equities trader for Cantor Fitzgerald in the North Tower. He was married to Karen and had a 4-month-old daughter, Maya, at the time of the attack. He was one of four children of Arthur and Susan Simon. His father worked several floors below him on the 93rd floor and also perished on that tragic day.
Steven Strobert grew up in Secaucus and was the son of a former Secaucus Board of Education member. He was 33 and worked on the 105th floor of the North Tower as a bond trader for Cantor Fitzgerald at the time of the attacks. Strobert, his wife Tara, and son Frankie lived in Ridgewood.
Michael Tanner was an investment officer and trader for the securities firm Cantor Fitzgerald. He was 44 years old, husband to Michele, and father to Sasha and Gianna. Tanner was the oldest of five children.
Good deeds in their memory
Shortly after the attacks, a spontaneous makeshift memorial appeared along Paterson Plank Road on the Route 3 bridge, which was one of the only places in town where residents could see the World Trade Center. Residents placed candles, posters, photos, and flowers along the bridge.
Today, residents place candles and flowers on a steel piece of the World Trade Center that sits next to the walls of the town’s official monument. The monument has the names of the six victims on the center wall, the New York skyline etched into the stone to the right of it, and to the left, quotes by former Mayor Dennis Elwell and former Pres. George Bush, as well as an inscription written by resident Louise Rittberg. Part of the inscription reads as follows:
“These acts of terrorism broke the hearts and tried the souls of us all, but they did not break our spirit. In their names, and in the names of the countless others who left unfillable spaces in family circles, we resolve to remember them always and do good deeds in their memory.”
In paying tribute to the lives lost, including police and firefighters and U.S service members, residents dedicated efforts to a month of giving to various non-profit organizations such as Tour de Force, the Steven Strobert Foundation, the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York, Hope for the Warriors, and Knights of Columbus.
Adriana Rambay Fernández may be reached at afernandez@hudsonreporter.com.