Numerous ceremonies took place Monday across New Jersey, as the nation marked the 16th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Monmouth County lost 147 victims 16 years ago. They were honored Monday morning in a ceremony overlooking Lower Manhattan from on top of Mount Mitchill in Atlantic Highlands. An American flag was lowered to half-staff, and a bell was rung to mark moments of silence.  

Richard Brugger's friend George, who worked in the South Tower for an insurance company, was among those who never returned home on that fateful day.

“George was a good guy. He was a helper, and I'm sure he was helping a lot of people that day before the tower went down,” Brugger said.

A candlelight vigil was held at 7 p.m. at the World Trade Center Gardens Memorial Park in Middletown. Thirty-seven residents were killed in the attack – the most of any New Jersey community.

Meanwhile in Keansburg, a new 9/11 memorial dedicated to 9/11 EMS workers broke ground Sunday at the beachfront. The focus of the structure will be a 5-foot long piece of World Trade Center steel. The New Jersey State First Aid Council is erecting the memorial, which will be the first of its kind in the country.

And in Hoboken officials unveiled the city's own new memorial. The structure features 56 glass panels -- one for each of the city's residents who died in the attacks.