Families and first responders gather in Jersey City to mark 25 years since Sept. 11
In Jersey City, officials will hold a remembrance ceremony at the city's 9/11 Memorial on Grand Street along the Hudson River.
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Jersey City residents gathered Thursday morning to honor the 39 city residents who lost their lives in the Sept. 11 attacks.
The ceremony was held at the 9/11 Memorial on Grand Street, across the Hudson River from Ground Zero.
The memorial includes twisted steel recovered from the Twin Towers following the attacks.
The area also served as a triage location during evacuation efforts from Lower Manhattan.
For the first time, the ceremony included a moment of silence for those who later died from 9/11-related illnesses.
"25 years. It's gone like it was yesterday," said Jersey City Homeland Security Director Greg Kierce.
"There are certain things you never forget. They live with you for the rest of your life," Kierce said.
Kierce also noted the growing toll of illnesses linked to time spent at Ground Zero.
"You see everyday that more and more police and firefighters, EMS and anybody else who was over there is coming down with these types of conditions," he said.
Jersey City Fire Department Battalion Chief Rich Gorman reflected on the impact those illnesses have had on first responders.
"I've lost friends, mentors," Gorman said. "Our toll in the Jersey City Fire Department rises, responders dying from WTC related cancers."
Gorman said part of his job is ensuring firefighters and their families have access to available benefits.
"We could have easily caved in on Sept. 11 but we didn't. A day came and it was Sept. 12," Gorman said. "The United States was united like never before I've ever seen in my entire life."
