9/11 Victims Remembered in Chatham Ceremony

Eleven years after 13 Chatham residents were killed in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, their friends, families, neighbors and fellow residents gathered once more to remember them.

More than 100 people, including the entire Chatham Borough Council, former Mayor and Councilman Joe Marts, members of the clergy and family members of those who died attended Chatham Borough's annual 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony.

Pastor Mary Davis from St. Paul's Church in Chatham Borough, whose husband was in the south tower of the trade center, gave the opening convocation. Doug Allen, a member of the Chatham Borough Fire Department and the 9-11 Memorial Committee, led the ceremony.

Dan Smith, also a firefighter in Chatham Borough, rang the bell as Allen and families of the deceased read the names of those Chatham residents who died in the attacks.

The flag raised over the memorial by Boy Scout Troop 8, Mayor Bruce Harris said, previously flew over the World Trade Center site on Sept. 11, 2011. Gov. Chris Christie gifted the flag to Chatham Borough.

"We'll find an appropriate place to keep this flag after tonight," Harris said.

Meghan Flood, 10, a borough resident and student at Lafayette Avenue School, sang "God Bless America."

Though the ceremony lasted about 10 minutes and ended before sunset, people continued to linger around the memorial until darkness fell. They laid flowers at the plaques with victims' names, snapped photos of the memorial and shared memories of the departed and of their own experiences on 9/11 with their friends and neighbors.

Donna Cali-Charles, the former chairwoman of the 9-11 Memorial Committee, said she was impressed by how many people came to the ceremony. "It just shows that this is still something that's important to the community. It's still something people want," she said.