Services pay respects to local 9/11 victims
BY MARLENE CANTY
Staff Writer

Sept. 11 observances in Old Bridge and Sayreville were dignified and sedate, bringing out small groups of towns people, neighbors and relatives of the victims.

"Five years later, I find myself no closer to understanding the events of that day," Old Bridge Mayor Jim Phillips said. "It is something we will all seek yet probably never fully understand."

Speaking during a morning service Monday at the township's 9/11 memorial, Phillips told friends and relatives to think of the victims as they were "at the height of their lives."

The assemblage was led in prayer by the Rev. Joseph Szulwach of St. Lawrence Church.

"What were we to do when this was happening," the father asked, recounting a time when "horror was so close to us."

Township Council members Bill Baker, G. Kevin Calogera, Lucille Panos and Patrick Gillespie were also on hand.

When called upon to lay the wreath at the monument, which has a marker for each of the 12 Old Bridge residents who perished in the twin towers, Panos and other council members instead suggested putting the wreath in the hands of family members of the victims. Specifically, the wreath was given to 7-year-old Alexander Romero, who was 2 at the time his father, Elvin, perished.

The victims from Old Bridge were Krystine Bordenabe, Mark F. Broderick ("Sparky"), Steven Paul Chucknick, Charles G. Costello Jr., Michael Allen Davidson, Joseph L. Howard, Jose Juan Marraro, William E. Micciulli, Robert A. Miller, Bernard Pietronico, Elvin Romero and Mark Shulman.

Sayreville's memorial service, held Saturday, included the dedication of a newly completed monument, amid remarks from Mayor Kennedy O'Brien. He told the gathering, "One thing I am reminded of with pride on that fateful day is how this community came together in so many ways, everyone - friends, neighbors and strangers ..."

O'Brien went on to recount the heroism of members of the Sayreville police, fire and rescue departments, who were a "vital part of the rescue effort." He called them an inspiration to us all.

O'Brien said the community had gathered Saturday to dedicate the monument, which includes two granite towers and three meditation benches, to the memory of the four Sayreville residents who lost their lives that day, Judy Hazel S. Fernandez, Donna Marie Giordano, Bobby Hughes Jr. and Vinod Parakat, and their families.

"We cannot begin to imagine your pain on the loss of ones so beloved to you," the mayor told the families.