Ceremonies, walk, ride honor 9/11 victims

MIDDLETOWN — The township will honor the 37 residents and the thousands of others who died in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in a number of ways in the coming week.

Middletown Township will hold a remembrance ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 11, at 6:30 p.m. at the Middletown World Trade Center Memorial Gardens in memory of the 37 residents who died in the World Trade Center attacks seven years ago.

The evening will include a wreath laying ceremony followed by a reflective walk through the gardens. The ceremony will be held rain or shine.

The gardens are located at 36 Church St. next to the Middletown Arts Center. Participants can park at the Middletown train station.

Memorial services and a three-mile commemorative run will be held on Saturday, Sept. 13, in memory of Middletown's 9/11 victims.

In Leonardo, an 8:15 a.m. Mass will be celebrated at St Mary's Church followed by a 10 a.m. ceremony at the Leonardo 9/11 Memorial, located at the foot of Concord Avenue and the state marina. The three-mile commemorative run will follow. The run begins at the Leonardo 9/11 Memorial and ends with an 11:45 a.m. ceremony at the Bayshore Waterfront Park Pier, Port Monmouth.

The public is invited to participate. Contact Tom Gagliastro at 732-492-6117 or runpr06@aol.com to participate in the run.T

his event is organized by the 9/11 Leonardo Memorial Committee and Middletown Elks 2179.

For the past four years several Middletown Township police officers have participated in the Tour de Force 9/11 Memorial Law Enforcement Bicycle Ride to honor and remember those lost in the attacks on our nation on Sept. 11, 2001.

This year Detective Jerry Weimer, Lt. Craig Weber and Lt. Joseph Capriotti will ride in memory of the Middletown residents lost at the World Trade Center.

Initially the ride was organized to aid the families of the law enforcement officers who died on Sept. 11. According to organizers, the Tour de Force has grown to include police officers from across the nation and parts of Canada.

Due to an outpouring of support, the tour is now able to assist families of law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty throughout the country.

Each rider is required to raise at least $1,000.

This year's ride will start at The Pentagon in Alexandria, Va., on Sept 8 and finish at the site of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.

On Sept. 10, the tour will pass through Monmouth County on Route 34 through Matawan to Route 35 on the way to Perth Amboy for the final overnight.

The next morning, riders cross over the Outerbridge Crossing and cycle through Staten Island to the Staten Island Ferry, which will take them into lower Manhattan to the World Trade Center site.