VFW Post 5481 held a ceremony Sunday at the Freedom Plaza-Community Park on the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. Remembrance and commemoration of Montville Township's victims were read with the tolling of the bell for each person. The victims on the 12-21-88 Pan-Am Flight 103, Lockerbie, Scotland were: John P. Flynn and William Giebler Jr. and the victims at the World Trade Center were: Gayle R. Green, Thomas V. Linehan, James Martello, James Romito, Paul Skrzypek and Dennis Taormina.
There's a huge difference between seeing a list of names of those who died on 9/11 and hearing each name read aloud while standing at Ground Zero, Montville Township High School graduate Laura Kingsbury said.With a list, you can turn the page. But to actually hear almost 3,000 names being read, the time alone it takes to read the names—about two hours—is immense, said Kingsbury, who now lives in Denville.This year, for the first time, she plans to have her oldest son, David, experience what it's like to hear the names. She said she is taking him to the ceremony at Ground Zero for the first …
Ian Bernstein was on the 60th floor of the south tower working for Morgan Stanley when the first plane struck on 9/11. The Montville resident was having breakfast at his desk. "You heard a loud noise and looked outside and you could see lots of paper kind of flying through the air and one guy came around and said he watched an American Airlines plane going into a building," he said. A security guard started evacuating employees to the 44th floor. There, another security official said the safest place would be back at their desks. The second plane hit. Glass came flying in and the building …
"This is the hour of lead Remembered if outlived, As freezing persons recollect the snow — First chill, then stupor, then the letting go." —Emily Dickinson Colleen Meehan Barkow and her mother JoAnn Meehan spent the weekend before Sept. 11, 2001, happily shopping for towels and linens for the 26-year-old's new home in the Poconos. Colleen and her husband Daniel, married less than a year, were planning to move into the house at the end of October. It meant a long commute into New York, where Colleen worked as a facilities director for Cantor Fitzgerald, on the 103rd …
As the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 arrives this weekend, friends and family members of those who died in the terrorist attacks and those who escaped the towers reflect on that sunny, but tragic September morning. Ron Dallard remembers his friend, Martin Boryczewski, of Parsippany, who was an employee of Cantor Fitzgerald on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center. Laura Kingsbury continues to mourn the loss of her brother, Paul Skrzypek, of Montville, who also worked for Cantor Fitzgerald. Meanwhile, Frank Reinhardt, of Kinnelon, and Montville resident Rosalee Keech were among those who …
During a recent drill, a vehicle with radioactive material traveled up a highway and police officers, including some from Montville, used devices to detect the radiation and track the car, Montville Police Chief Richard Cook said.The drill is one of several ways Montville's emergency preparedness has changed since 9/11 with new equipment, more training and greater communication between police departments, Cook said.Over the past decade, Montville police obtained gas masks, more powerful weapons and training in chemical and biological terrorism, he said.Police also learned how to set up …
In view of the New York City skyline, two 208-foot long walls designed to resemble the Twin Towers lying on their sides create a space for reflection at Empty Sky, New Jersey's monument to those lost in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. On Saturday, families will gather to dedicate the New Jersey 9/11 Memorial in Jersey City’s Liberty State Park. After the 11 a.m. ceremony, which will be open strictly to family members of victims, the memorial will officially open to the public. James “Rick” Cahill, of West Caldwell, Chairman of the New Jersey 9/11 Memorial Commission, who lost his …
Rosalee Keech, a 28-year resident of Montville, took the PATH to the World Trade Center on 9/11 and she was in the north tower when the attacks happened. Keech, 60, whose father is a Holocaust survivor, got out of the north tower as fast as she could and made her way to her company's office on Pine Street, where she called her husband to have him tell their son not to take the subway."I remember telling everybody at work ... 'I don't do terrorist attacks,' and I knew that's what it was. I left the building and everybody else stayed and then when I got to the street there was still a lot of …
The light was unmistakable. Not from the flames, dripping through the ceiling of an abandoned hallway, but from the sun, the actual sun. And there in the stairwell, at nearly 1,000 feet above the ground, a soft breeze carried the air – fresh air from the east – in through a gaping hole in the side of the skyscraper on a cloudless morning in New York City. Reflecting on that day nearly a decade ago, there’s a hint of regret in John Pyndus’ voice as he recalls seeing, with unparalleled clarity, the faces of those he knew who would never make it out alive. Perhaps it’s simply a realization, …
It was time for a change. After terrorists hijacked four passenger planes and slammed two into the World Trade Center buildings, one into the Pentagon, and another into a field in Pennsylvania, the way professionals approach security for mass transportation needed an overhaul. For NJ Transit, which operates 2,027 buses, 771 trains and 45 light rail vehicles over a service area of 5,325 square miles that meant a change in mindset. “In the past we only focused on crime and great service to customers, but now, here at NJ Transit, what we try to drive home to all our officers is that their main …
Here are photos of sites in Montville dedicated to those who died on 9/11, including photos from the ceremony at Community Park’s Freedom Plaza on Changebridge Road last year. At 1 p.m. on Sunday, Montville VFW Post 5481 and Montville Township again will be holding a 9/11 Memorial Service at Freedom Plaza. As the 10-year anniversary of Sept. 11 approaches, Montville Patch is looking at how the attacks of that day have impacted the community and residents. Monday: Remembering a Son (Photo) Tuesday: Teaching 9/11 in the Schools Wednesday: List of Those from Montville Who Died Thursday: …
Editor's note: Many New Jersey residents saw firsthand the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. Now, 10 years later, we've asked some of them how the event changed their lives. We'll be sharing their stories all this week.Hoboken resident Howard Turoff remembers thinking it was a clear and beautiful day as he walked to the local PATH station on his way to work on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. He had no idea he was about to step onto the last train into lower Manhattan, to the biggest terrorist attack ever in the United States. The cars of the train were full. People were standing …
Freedom Plaza at Community Park in the township lists six people who lived in Montville and died on 9/11. They ranged in age from 36 to 51. Three worked for Marsh & McLennan, two for Cantor Fitzgerald and one for Port Authority police. Two were related by marriage. Gayle R. Greene, a 51-year-old Montville resident, was a vice president with Marsh & McLennan. She worked on the 100th floor of the north tower. She enjoyed watching adventure shows on TV, took trips every year and had a close group of friends. Thomas V. Linehan, 39, was a senior vice president with Marsh & McLennan. Dennis …
Editor's note: Many New Jersey residents saw firsthand the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. Now, 10 years later, we've asked some of them how the event changed their lives. We'll be sharing their stories all this week.Steve Napolitano, who was the General Manager of the George Washington Bridge and Bus Station on Sept. 11, 2001, remembers standing on the sidewalk the day after the terror attacks, staring at the American flag workers had just unfurled on the bridge "while car horns beeped as they drove beneath it." “It was really important that we do that; that we hang that flag…
'A Letter to Caitlyn' You asked your mom why everyone is so sad around your birthday and you wonder why you never got to meet your Uncle Johnnie. I hope I can help you understand. Before you were born, there were two really big buildings in New York City called the Twin Towers. Your Uncle Johnnie worked on the 104th floor of the building, almost at the very top! He worked with bankers and had lots of friends who worked with him. A week before you were born, a group of men who did not like our country, did a very bad thing. They hijacked airplanes, which means they forced the pilots to let …
As the 10-year anniversary of Sept. 11 approaches, Montville Patch is looking at how the attacks of that day have impacted the community and residents over the past decade. We begin this series with a photo of two Montville residents who lost their only son. Monday: Remembering a Son (Photo) Tuesday: Teaching 9/11 in the Schools Wednesday: 6 From Montville Who Died Thursday: Memorials in Town (Gallery) Friday: Security Changes Saturday: This Year, Old Enough for the Ground Zero Ceremony Sunday: Montville's Ceremony
