The Union County community is invited to honor the memory of the 60 residents who perished in the attacks on September 11, 2001, by visiting the Union County September 11th Memorial on Sunday, September 11, 2022 at Echo Lake Park in Mountainside.
The Memorial will be open from the morning hours until 9:00 p.m. on September 11. The Union County Sheriff’s Office will provide a uniformed Honor Guard standing watch at the memorial from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
The public is invited to bring and light candles in memory of those lost in the attacks. The Union County Department of Parks and Recreation will also contribute candles to the memorial.
“We join together community in honor of our fellow Union County residents who perished in the attacks, and we remember the many acts of courage that occurred in the midst of a terrible national tragedy,” said Commissioner Chair Rebecca L. Williams.
The Union County September 11th Memorial incorporates elements of design that include all three sites where attacks took place on September 11, 2001. Two girders recovered from the ruins of the World Trade Center are arranged within a five sided area representing the Pentagon, and an Eternal Flame represents those who died in Pennsylvania along with members of the Armed Services and emergency responders.
In addition to these elements, the names of the 60 deceased Union County residents are etched into the memorial.
Union County worked with residents of Cranford, Elizabeth, Kenilworth, Linden, Mountainside, Rahway, Scotch Plains, Summit, Union and Westfield to plan and build the Memorial.
Dedicated on Sept. 13, 2003, the memorial was constructed through private donations including in-kind work by labor unions and materials at cost. For more details visit ucnj.org/september-11th-memorial.
The memorial is located on a hill at the border of Mountainside and Springfield in Union County’s Echo Lake Park (view map), near the Springfield Avenue entrance at the eastern end of the park.