Lower Makefield Decides On 9/11 Ceremony

LOWER MAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP, PA — The 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on America will feature two ceremonies at the Garden of Reflection this year.

The Lower Makefield Township Board of Supervisors accepted a recommendation from the township-appointed 9-11 25^th Remembrance Committee to hold two events on Sept. 11 at the Garden of Reflection.

The recommendation comes after conflict with the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah falling on the same date this year.

A morning ceremony will recognize the chronology of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, while an evening ceremony will begin around 5:30 p.m., Township Manager David Kratzer said.

That formal ceremony will conclude just prior to sunset, followed by individual and/or communal reflection with the potential for a candlelight vigil.

The Garden of Reflection is the official memorial to the Pennsylvania victims.

The Garden of Reflection has held a solemn ceremony on Sept. 11 at Memorial Park on Woodside Road to pay tribute to the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C., and in a field in Shanksville.

In Bucks County, the Garden of Reflection is a physical reminder of the more than 2,900 lives lost, including 18 victims from Bucks County, including nine from the township.

That represents the highest number of casualties of any municipality in Pennsylvania.

The 9/11 Memorial Garden of Reflection was created and funded by families of the 9/11 heroes and built to honor their memory with twin fountains cascading toward the sky and glass panels etched with the names of the close to 3,000 who lost their lives that day.

Those include Victor Saracini, who was killed when United Airlines flight 175 he piloted was highjacked and flown into the World Trade Center. His wife Ellen works tirelessly year-round on an annual 5K and other events to raise money to support the memorial.

In accepting the committee’s recommendation, supervisors made it clear that they would be willing to have the members that resigned from the Township-appointed 9-11 25^th Remembrance Committee rejoin the committee to support the event planning and/or jointly host the event(s) in cooperation with 9-11 Memorial Garden of Reflection Inc., Kratzer said.