On the ninth anniversary of
the Sept. 11 attacks , several
hundred people came to the
Garden of Reflection in
Lower Makefield to remember
and pay respect to lost
loved ones.

The memorial was created to
honor not just the 18 Bucks
County residents who were
killed in the brutal attack, but
all 2,973 victims. The Garden
of Reflection is a memorial
centered around a fountain
with two towering streams of
water to symbolize the two
World Trade Center Towers
that were attacked.
Behind this fountain the
names of all the 2,973 are
etched into glass. This
enshrinement is called the
Remembrance Walk.
Much like the two streams
of water that symbolize the
Two Towers, the 18 maple
trees represent the Bucks
County victims, while 42
lights along the Spiral Walk
represent the children in
Bucks County who lost a parent
on that tragic day.
The first bell rang at 8:46
a.m., the same time American
Airlines Flight 11 hit the
North Tower. Nine of the 18
Bucks County residents lost
their lives then.
Rabbi Howard Cove read a
prayer that touched his audience’s
hearts.

“The blow was sudden,
swift and beyond comprehension.
How can you witness the
loss of so many lives and
make any sense of it?” said
Cove.
That remains a question that
nobody can answer. Not one
person can make any sense of
why so many innocent people
had to lose their lives in this
unforgettable tragedy.
The second bell rang at 9:03
a.m. United Airlines Flight
175, piloted by Bucks County
resident Victor Saracini,
struck the South Tower at that
time.
The crowd was asked if they
remember where they were
that day. Pastor Jay Button
remembers. He talked about
driving down the
Pennsylvania Turnpike, on his
way to a meeting. He heard
about the first tower being
struck over the radio.
He got to his meeting and
heard that the second tower
had been struck. “We hurriedly
canceled our meeting. I was
headed back down the same
turnpike, same beautiful
morning sun now beating
through my windshield. But
life didn’t feel as good as it
did moments earlier. Not only
had I changed direction, but it
seemed the whole world did.”
he said.
At 9:37 a.m. the third bell
rang. American Airlines Flight
77 crashed into the Pentagon
then. A prayer is read for those
lost in that attack Pentagon.
At 10:03 a.m. the fire bell
tolled for the final time, in
memory of United Airlines
Flight 93, which crashed in a
field near Shanksville,
Pennsylvania. A prayer was
read for them.
The ceremony ended with a
wreath being laid for all the
victims of the attacks.
Justin Clark, nephew of
Saracini, flew out from
Sacramento, California to
honor his fallen uncle.
“I love the openness,” Clark
said. “It’s not like a church or
someone’s house. It’s a wide
open area where people can
pay tribute.”
Asked what the memorial
means to him Clark said, “It
means everything.”