By Greg Forester / Staff Writer
WEST WINDSOR — A crowd of over 100 students, residents, and officials gathered at Mercer County Community College on Thursday to remember the Sept. 11 attacks that killed dozens of Mercer County residents and thousands of Americans seven years earlier.
Chris Smith, a Mercer County Fire Academy instructor and City of Trenton firefighter, gave the crowd a powerful glimpse of his experiences at Ground Zero.
Like the other first responders sent into Manhattan, those from New Jersey spent their time in bucket lines, removing debris, or crawling through smoky, toxic rubble in search of survivors of the attacks, Mr. Smith said.
"I will never forget the work I did to bring closure to so many families," said Mr. Smith, to the people gathered at the community college’s Sept. 11 Remembrance Park.
On the way to Manhattan, the group of first responders was treated to an eerie and uncommon sight for motorists experienced in traveling on New Jersey’s major highways.
There was not a single car traveling in any direction on the New Jersey Turnpike, save for the caravan of buses transporting Mr. Smith and other emergency workers from all over New Jersey toward the billowing smoke rising from the rubble of the Twin Towers, according to Mr. Smith.
"We arrived at the Jacob Javits Center, which would become my temporary home for the next 12 days," said Mr. Smith. "When we got to Ground Zero, some people were clapping and cheering, but others were crying."
The chairman of the college’s Board of Trustees, Anthony "Skip" Cimino, addressed the crowd prior to Mr. Smith’s keynote speech and set a positive tone for the morning’s events.
"Today is a celebration of life, and a day of remembrance," said Mr. Cimino. "Each and every one of us have been touched by Sept. 11."
Ceremony attendees were treated to a rousing rendition of "God Bless America," delivered by college student and singer Kelly Carvin, who received an invitation to sing at Harlem’s Apollo Theater after winning the college’s "Searching for the Stars" contest earlier this year.
Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes also spoke and assisted other county officials in laying a wreath at a new memorial bench in the college’s Remembrance Park.
Mr. Hughes said the severity of the attacks did not dent the dedication of American citizens to "tolerance, inclusion, cultural competency, and diplomatic problem-solving."
"A profound sense of grief continues to permeate our culture here in the U.S.," Mr. Hughes said. "This is something that will be with us for a very long time, but it is something we can learn from."
Present at the gathering was the latest class of Mercer County Police Academy cadets.
Several of the day’s speakers called on the crowd to cheer for the cadets, for their decision to become police officers and first responders.

