9/11 ceremonies set in West Haven

WEST HAVEN — Student leaders at the University of New Haven will hold a special ceremony on campus to remember the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001, and to honor the bravery of the first responders who risked their lives that day – and every day — to protect the nation, according to the university.

This year’s event will take place on Friday, Sept. 10, at 11 a.m. in the Maxcy Quad on the university’s main campus. Watch live at www.facebook.com/ UNewHaven.

“On the evening of September 11, 2001, the University of New Haven came together to honor the lives lost that fateful day and to show their respect for the bravery and courage of first responders,” the university said in a statement. “Each year since, student leaders at the university have organized a remembrance ceremony to ensure that the next generation of public servants and first responders, many of whom are now too young to remember the day of the attacks, never forget what happened on 9/11. The university’s academic program in national security was one of the first such academic majors developed following the 9/11 attacks.”

— The city will observe the 20th anniversary of the attacks with a flag-raising ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 11 at the Bradley Point Park flagpole, followed by a candlelight vigil at the city’s 9/11 memorial, according to the city.

The service will begin with a presentation of the colors by the West Haven Police Honor Guard and the flag-raising by the West Haven Fire Department Honor Guard and the New Haven County Firefighters Emerald Society Pipes & Drums, according to the city.

The flag-raising will honor the memory of the nearly 3,000 people who died in the attacks. Remarks will follow, including from Mayor Nancy R. Rossi.

Louis P. Esposito Jr., Rossi’s executive assistant, will serve as the master of ceremonies. Nora E. Mullins will sing the national anthem, and Grace Kelly Nowak will sing “God Bless America.”

At 7 p.m., the candlelight vigil will take place at the Richard S. Gabrielle Sept. 11 Memorial on the boardwalk next to the Savin Rock Conference Center, 6 Rock St., according to the city.

Members of the West Haven Rotary Club will distribute candles and programs at the granite monument, which was paid for by the service club in 2002.

Gabrielle, 50, of West Haven, was killed during the attack on the twin towers in New York’s World Trade Center complex. An insurance broker at Aon Corp., he was last seen on the south tower’s 78th floor, according to the city.

Declared Patriot Day by Congress in 2002, the city will fly flags at half-staff in recognition of the national day of remembrance.

The vigil will feature taps played by former West Shore Fire Department Lt. Kevin McKeon and Celtic folk performances by Irish singer-songwriter Liz McNicholl, including “The Bravest,” a tribute to the heroes of 9/11.