Cape May County remembered the 20th anniversary of the attacks of September 11th on Saturday. Cape May County Commissioner Vice-Director Leonard Desiderio and Commissioner Jeffrey Pierson both addressed the crowd, along with United States Coast Guard TRACEN Cape May Captain Sarah “Kathy” Felger. 1st District Assemblyman Erik Simonsen also performed the National Anthem and provided the prayer.
“The entire Board of County Commissioners really appreciates the support the community provides when we hold one of these ceremonies and see the number of people that come out,” said Desiderio. “Every day our first responders are working to protect our residents. We take this day out every year to remember that as people are running from the burning buildings, our first responders always run towards them. We appreciate our police, firefighters, and EMS workers who make our County and Country so great. And it is important we never forget the victims of those attacks.”
The ceremony is held at the Cape May County Memorial Garden, which is located in front of the Cape May County Administration Building, located at 4 Moore Road in Cape May Court House. The centerpiece of the Memorial Garden represents the Twin Towers after they were struck by two airplanes within 17 minutes of each other. The design depicts one tower after it collapsed from the damage of the impact. The pieces are part of the actual towers and were donated to the County to be part of the Memorial Garden. The garden is open to the public in honor of the 2,753 killed in New York; 184 people killed at the Pentagon; and 40 people killed on Flight 93.
“Cape May County will always remember those deadly attacks 20 years ago,” said Pierson. “There are adults today who weren’t alive when nearly 3000 United States citizens were killed. We hold ceremonies like the one held today to remind our residents about one of the single deadliest attacks in our Country’s history. We must continue to keep the memory of those victims alive so something like this never happens again.”
