Hackettstown Community Dedicates 2,977 Flags To 9/11 Lives Lost

HACKETTSTOWN, NJ — The House of the Good Shepherd in Hackettstown hosted a special ceremony on Tuesday after placing 2,977 flags down on their lawn in memory of all of the people who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.

Hackettstown Mayor Jerry DiMaio, members of Hackettstown's Police Department, a representative from the Fifth Congressional District and staff members from the House of the Good Shepherd, were among those who attended the event.

Speakers reminisced about the loss of the World Trade Center, reliving some of the horrors from that fateful day, two decades ago.

The event came about when the House of the Good Shepherd’s Human Resource Generalist Gina Arnone, Susan Lanza the CEO told attendees, suggested that the staff members host the event and place the flags on the property. Arnone also suggested that local first responders were invited as special guests and given recognition.

DiMaio, who spoke, said he personally lost a friend who was a Homeland Security Special Agent, who didn’t die during the attacks but after he was assigned at Ground Zero, suffering from cancer in 2013, after helping at the site.

“We have an obligation to remember them [all who died] with gratitude and honor,” DiMaio said.

Stephanie Rudloff, director of nursing for the facility, said she worked as a police officer during the attacks in Jefferson Township. She stressed not only the importance of remembering the day, but growth from the “common, tragic experience.”

She and fellow officers assisted at the scene, with rescue efforts “with an unrelenting effort to carry on despite the odds,” with good that sparked in spite of the tragedy, she said.

“From the experience of devastation has emerged from many of us, resilience, strength, courage, hope, belief in enduring goodness of mankind; and most importantly the lesson of service to others,” she said.

Click here for the full livestream of Good Shepherd’s 9/11 Remembrance Event.

Hackettstown will be hosting its own 9/11 event on Saturday, Sept. 11 at the Municipal Building, in front of the 9/11 monument. For more details, click here.

RELATED: Hackettstown To Host 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony

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