9/11 Ceremony At Garden Of Reflection To Honor Victims

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — The Garden of Reflection — Pennsylvania's official 9/11 Memorial — will commemorate the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America on Thursday.

The ceremony starts at 8:30 a.m. on Patriots Day at Memorial Park on Woodside Road to pay tribute to the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon Washington, D.C., and in the skies above western Pennsylvania when a plane went down in a field in Shanksville.

Eighteen residents from Bucks County — including nine from Lower Makefield Township — were among those killed during the attacks, representing the highest number of casualties of any municipality in Pennsylvania.

These are the events planned to commemorate the Sept. 11 attacks in Bucks County:

Lower Makefield Township

The 9/11 Memorial Garden of Reflection was created and funded by families of the 9/11 heroes and built to honor their memory with twin fountains cascading toward the sky and glass panels etched with the names of the close to 3,000 who lost their lives that day.

There will be a morning ceremony with the tolling of a bell marking the chronological events of that fateful Sept. 11 morning. The ceremony will begin at 8:30 a.m. and last about an hour.

The memorial will be open throughout the day for personal reflection and strolls along the garden pathways and pay their respects.

Warminster Township

The Hartsville Fire Company will hold a 9/11 Flag Memorial and Memorial Service.

The Flag Memorial will consist of a display of 403 American flags on the front lawn of the Fire Station. The flags represent the 343 New York City firefighters, 37 New York Port Authority officers and the 23 New York Police Department officers who died while saving others in the Sept. 11 attacks on America.

Two additional flags will represent Hartsville volunteer firefighters John Kulick and Tristan Smith, who were killed in action in Iraq.

The station will be open from sunrise to sundown for visitors who may wish to “stop, reflect, and remember.”

A memorial service will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at the fire company on York Road. It will include a reading of the names of the fallen firefighters and police officers. The public is invited, and attendees are encouraged to assist with reading the names and retrieving the flags.

Washington Crossing

On Thursday, Washington Crossing National Cemetery will host a volunteer event to commemorate Patriots Day of Service. Starting at 10 a.m., volunteers will participate in headstone cleaning and beautification efforts to honor service members at the Washington Crossing National Cemetery in Upper Makefield. Registration is available through Carry The Load, a partner non-profit organization.