By: Richard L. Smith
It has been 24 years since September 11, 2001, one of the darkest days in our nation’s history.
The violence of that morning tore into the very soul of this country, and New Jersey was no exception. 
Nearly 700 of our state’s residents never made it home, leaving behind families, friends, and communities that have carried their absence ever since.
From Hoboken to Middletown, from Bergen County to Union, every corner of New Jersey felt the pain.
At the time, while living in Passakc County but working at Cablevision in Newark, I remember watching smoke rise across the Hudson, knowing that people from our neighborhoods, people we passed in the grocery store or saw at church, were possibly trapped in those towers.
That day forever changed how New Jersey saw itself, close enough to the epicenter to feel the ground shake, yet strong enough to rise together.
In the months and years that followed, New Jersey stood shoulder to shoulder with New York in the rebuild.
Our first responders crossed bridges and tunnels that morning, many never thinking about their own safety. Ordinary residents volunteered, donated blood, offered rides, and opened homes to strangers.
That unity became the foundation of something lasting.
Today, those who were lost are remembered in stone, steel, and water across our state. Memorials in places like Essex County (West Orange NJ), Jersey City and Weehawken face the Manhattan skyline, each etched with names that remind us of the lives taken.
The Empty Sky Memorial at Liberty State Park, with its twin walls stretching toward Ground Zero, stands as one of the most powerful tributes anywhere. It tells the story not just of tragedy, but of resilience, a state refusing to let its people be forgotten.
For New Jersey, 9/11 was not just a national tragedy; it was personal. It left scars on families, towns, and communities. 
But in those scars, we’ve also seen courage, generosity, and a quiet strength that defines us still. Twenty-four years later, we do not forget.
We remember the violence that tried to break us, the neighbors we lost, and the way this state came together to help build something beautiful out of the ashes.