Eighteen Bucks County residents and the thousands of other victims who perished in the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 will be remembered in a Thursday morning service at the Garden of Reflection in Lower Makefield.
The service marks the 24th anniversary of the attacks which killed 2,977 people at the World Trade Center in Manhattan, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia and in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
The nighttime “Remembrance in Light” Ceremony will not be held this year, but will be held on Sept. 11, 2026 to commemorate the 25th anniversary.
READ MORE: Pennsylvanians’ Personal Stories: Recalling the Moment They Learned of 9/11 Tragedy
Buck County’s Garden of Reflection, which is the official memorial to the Pennsylvania victims, includes the names of all the victims from the day’s attacks, but features elements dedicated to the 18 victims from Bucks County. Many of the 9/11 victims from Bucks County lived in Lower Makefield.
Thursday morning’s service agenda:
- 8:30 a.m. Tolling of the bell 9 times for the 9 victims from Lower Makefield Township
- 8:47 a.m. Bell Toll for North Tower
- 9:03 a.m. Bell Toll for South Tower
- 9:37 a.m. Bell Toll for Pentagon
Conclusion of Ceremony, visitors are invited to walk the grounds as the bells continue to toll in remembrance.
- 9:59 a.m. Bell Toll marking collapse of South Tower
- 10:07 a.m. Bell Toll for Flight 93 in Shanksville, PA
- 10:28 a.m. Bell Toll marking collapse of North Tower
The remainder of the day will offer a quiet time of remembrance as the community is invited to walk the memorial on a self-guided tour.
Hartsville Fire Co. to hold flag memorial service
The Hartsville Fire Co. at 1195 York Road in Warminster will observe 9/11 by opening its doors all day and allowing residents and observers a moment to stop, reflect and remember.
The Hartsville Fire Co. will also host a flag memorial service, including its display of 403 American flags on the front lawn of the fire station.
The flags represent the 343 New York City firefighters, 37 New York Port Authority officers and the 23 New York Police Department. officers who died while saving others on Sept. 11, 2001.
Two additional flags will represent Volunteer Firefighters John Kulick and Tristan Smith who were killed in action in Iraq.
A Memorial Service will be held at 7 p.m. and will include a reading of the names of the fallen firefighters and police officers. The public is invited and attendees encouraged to assist with reading the names and retrieving the flags.
Palisades Regional Fire Resuce Rememberance
The fire rescue will fly its flag at the intersection of Route 412 and 611 will have a short ceremony at 7 p.m. All invited.
Bucks County residents lost on Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks
- Michael A. Bane, 33, Yardley
- Lorraine Bay, 58, Langhorne
- James P. Berger, 44, Lower Makefield
- Jeffrey M. Chairnoff, 35, Lower Makefield
- Peter Chirchirillo, 47, Langhorne
- William R. Godshalk, 35, Yardley
- Donald G. Havlish Jr., 53, Yardley
- Donald W. Jones, 43, Fairless Hills
- William H. Kelly, 30, Lower Makefield
- Joseph Lostrangio, 48, Langhorne
- Louis Nacke, 42, New Hope
- Joshua Reiss, 23, Lower Makefield
- John Michael Rodak, 39, Southampton
- Victor Saracini, 51, Yardley
- Larry Senko, 34, Lower Makefield
- Barbara A. Shaw, 57, Bensalem
- William Steiner, 56, Solebury
- Sandra Wright, 57, Langhorne
The Garden of Reflection is located at 1950 Woodside Road, Lower Makefield.
If using GPS for directions, you may have to use “Morrisville” or “Yardley” in the address. It is Pennsylvania’s official Sept. 11, 2001 public memorial since it opened in 2006. To donate for the upkeep of the garden, its fountains and grounds, donate online at https://www.9-11memorialgarden.org/
JD Mullane can be reached at jmullane@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: 9/11 anniversary services set in Bucks County to honor those lost in terror attacks
Reporting by JD Mullane, Bucks County Courier Times / Bucks County Courier Times
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