This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

South Jersey Town to Dedicate World Trade Center Memorial

The memorial features a beam from one of the World Trade Center towers felled by the terrorist attack.

There is no easy or simplistic way to describe the impact of the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001.

Mere words can't encapsulate the emotional impact felt by those directly affected by such tragic events, nor can they adequately define the feelings of those who helplessly stared at their televisions in fear from afar. 

What happened that day in some way, shape or form impacted every American who attempted to process what they were witnessing. And while memories of that day are uniquely personal for every American, it was a day that forever changed this country as a whole. 

Find out what's happening in Cinnaminsonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Communities throughout the country vowed to “never forget” that day.

Next month, Gloucester Township will do its part to make good on this promise.

Find out what's happening in Cinnaminsonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A memorial service to mark the 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will be held at the Firefighters Commons Memorial Park at the Chews Landing Fire Department's Somerdale Road station, highlighted by the unveiling of the World Trade Center Artifact Memorial.

The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 8:15 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11.

Mayor Dave Mayer, who will be one of the speakers during the ceremony, recently explained why he feels the memorial service is important.

“Considering the sense of security and innocence we lost, and the magnitude of the loss of lives, it's something we should always memorialize. This is a way of keeping spirits alive and their memories alive,” he said.

Community leaders, along with the township’s police and fire departments, collaborated to bring the 182-pound, 36x24x10 steel beam from one the fallen World Trade Center buildings to Gloucester Township.

Mayer credits retired Chews Landing Fire Department chief William H. Weiserth Jr. as the driving force behind securing the historical artifact.

Weiserth explained that an organization, Fire Fighter Closecalls, through the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, was making available pieces of World Trade Center debris and artifacts that were salvaged during cleanup operations.

“We had always been interested in obtaining something like this, but prior to seeing that advertisement, the disbursement of those materials were only made available to certain organizations,” Weiserth said. “Quite a bit of material was left over, so it was made available to any organization that they felt should be eligible to get a piece of it.”

It was at that point Weiserth put together a letter of interest in obtaining the artifact, including a plan for displaying it.

“We put together a pretty detailed letter that worked a lot like an application. I had to take pictures of the park and submit those, too,” he said.

Even after submitting the detailed application to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, it wasn’t a forgone conclusion that the township would be awarded a piece of the World Trade Center.

“We realized there would be an awful lot of companies and organizations requesting artifacts, so we assumed we'd eventually hear from someone, but six months had passed and we hadn’t,” he said.

That’s when fire district administrator Greg Karas got involved.

“Greg got on the phone and made a few calls and really helped secure this. He made it happen,” Weiserth said.

Last fall, Mayer traveled with his children, along with township police and fire personnel, to the John F. Kennedy International Airport, to retrieve the steel beam from one of the airport's hangars.

“The whole trip was a very a moving experience,” he explained.

The township's 9/11 memorial service will include tributes for emergency-response personnel and memorials of those who died in the attacks.

“This is something that can be a very fitting, lasting and yearly tribute. I encourage members of our community to attend," Mayer said.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?