This year's remembrance ceremony was held at the county fairgrounds in Pilesgrove Township.
PILESGROVE TWP. -- Salem Countians gathered Friday night to honor those lost in the Sept. 11 attacks on America 14 years ago and to honor the first responders who today stand ready to aid in any disaster.
Several hundred turned out at the Salem County Fairgrounds for the annual event which, during many emotional moments, left tears in the eyes of many, but also left them with a sense of great pride that they are citizens of the United Stat
Freeholder Bob Vanderslice said although the attacks took place 14 years ago, the events of Sept. 11, 2001 are "forever etched in our hearts and in our minds and all of our memoires."
"Let me challenge you, encourage you to reflect on today and honor the victims, survivors and their families of the Sept. 11 attack and let us make Sept. 11 no longer about grieving about what we lost, but use this day to remind ourselves that we stand for freedom, that we stand for one nation under God," Vanderslice said.."
Salem County Prosecutor John T. Lenahan, compared the Sept. 11 attacks to the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, some 60 years earlier.
Many things have changed in the past 14 years, Lenahan noted. The U.S. has been in two wars -- in Iraq and Afghanistan -- there has been the decline of the Taliban and Al Quadea and the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, Osama bin Laden was tracked down and killed. But there has been the rise of other terrorist organizations, namely ISIS, he said.
"Despite the fact that many things have changed, many things have stayed the same.
The United States is still a target of terrorists. The terrorist are still eager to disrupt and destroy the American way of life," Lenahan said.
Although there has been no attack on U.S. soil of the magnitude of Sept. 11, 2001, there have been terrorist incidents, the Boston Marathon bombing among them, he noted.
Recalling the attacks 14 years ago, Lenahan said there were two lasting impressions.
The first he said, was one of "shock, alarm, terror and anger."
The second was "a recognition and appreciation and admiration for America's first responders ..." who came to the aid of so many.
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They were "willing to risk their own lives trying to save the lines of others ... to put themselves in harm's way to save ordinary American citizens."
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Gwen Parris-Atwell of Lower Alloways Creek who has served on the front lines in the war on terror since Sept. 11 also spoke.
"We must never forget the legacy of that September day when our world was drawn together in a common cause of freedom and a renewed devotion to it," she said.
A nurse, she has served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany, experiences "that have forever changed me."
"I have had to he honor and privilege to care our heroes and ensure their safe transport home since this war on terror began."
She noted that 6,000 U.S. armed service members have been killed and 52,000 wounded fighting the war on terror.
More than 300 attended Friday night's ceremony in addition to the more than 100 first responders taking part.
A 9/11 remembrance ceremony has been held each year in Salem County since 2001 when, just days after the attacks, hundreds gathered along the along the Penns Grove waterfront.
The ceremony then moved to the fairgrounds and then to the county complex on Cemetery Road where a memorial made of steel from the south tower of the World Trade Center stands. This year, at the request of many, the ceremony returned to the fairgrounds.
Leroy Pierce chaired the event committee. Master of ceremonies was Jack Ayars.
As those gathered stood for a moment of silence at the end of the ceremony, "Taps" echoed over the still fairgrounds.
As American flags on the extended ladders of fire trucks from Penns Grove and Salem were lowered -- symbolizing the fall of the Twin Towers -- the ladder of a Reliance truck rose between them, holding an American flag representing the Freedom Tower rising in their place in lower Manhattan.
Parris-Atwell said what she has witnessed in the war zones where she has served is a reminder of one thing we must all remember.
"Freedom isn't free," Parris-Atwell said.
"So this evening as we think back on the events of 9/11, our sorrow over the loss of so many good people should be tempered by the example shown by so many who died and so many who lived," Parris-Atwell said. "They taught us through their actions that day, and in the days that followed, what it is to be human and what it means to be American."
"They showed us the value of duty, self-sacrifice and love. Today, as we remember those lost, I ask you to join me in faith that the good will not only endure but we will all prevail."
Bill Gallo Jr. may be reached at bgallo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow South Jersey Times on Twitter @TheSJTimes. Find NJ.com on Facebook.