By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
The Rev. Suzanne Schaffer-Coates was into her remarks Monday at the East Windsor Sept.11 memorial ceremony, when the low rumble of an airplane flying in the distance filled the air.
On a clear, sunny day much like the one 16 years ago, the community gathered outside the municipal building to remember a time when the noise of jets had a much different effect on a community and a nation. With the sun setting for the late afternoon service, clergy and others reflected upon and sought to draw lessons from a day that saw nearly 3,000 people, including six residents of East Windsor, murdered.
The East Windsor residents killed on Sept.11 were Colleen Barkow, 26, Lorraine Bay, 58, Debbie Bellows, 30, Anil Bharvaney, 41, Neil Lai, 59, and Ruth Lapin, 53.
“We have so many thoughts today, so many memories,” she said. “It was the defining moment of this generation.”
“We gather to remember that day,” said the Rev. James R. Egan of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. “But more than that, to remember innocent victims and first responders and average citizens who gave their lives to rescue and assist.”
East Windsor police Chief James Geary said the victims that day included 412 emergency responders “who ran to the call on that fateful morning and lost their lives.”
“We gather to honor their bravery, their dedication and their selfless sacrifice,” he said. “They were not just firefighters, EMS professionals and police officers, they were fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters who all shared the common bond of unwavering service to others.”
The Rev. Schaffer-Coates, a pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury, is also the chaplain of Hightstown Engine Co.1, and came wearing the uniform of that Fire Department. She, too, reflected on the sacrifice of the first responders, who “went out to save lives and lost their own in service of their fellow human beings.
“We remember them,” she said, “and we honor them.”
Yet for many attending and participating in the memorial observance, the terrorist attacks that Tuesday morning represent something they were not around to witness.
Superintendent of Schools Richard Katz said that except for current high school juniors and seniors, the rest of the students in the district were not born when Sept.11 happened.
“So for our current and future students, 9/11 is history, much like Vietnam or Korea to many of us and World War II to even more of us,” he said. “So that’s what makes education so important.”
During the ceremony, East Windsor firefighter Harvey Bailey sang the Lee Greenwood song, “God Bless the U.S.A.,” and at one point an old woman with a walker got up to stand, followed by another person and another, before finally the entire crowd was on its feet.
