Community Corner

Locals Pay Respects at Eagle Rock 9/11 Memorial

Small number of residents visit memorial morning after bin Laden's death announced to the world

In the daylight hours following the news that America's number one enemy was killed by U.S. forces, a slow trickle of residents visited the Eagle Rock September 11 Memorial in West Orange to pay respect to his victims.

Arriving one at a time, each visitor somberly made their way to the stone and metal monument, to gaze across the mist at the New York City skyline that was so dramatically altered on that September day nearly 10 years ago.

The monument's focal point is a statue of a little girl clutching a teddy bear. Behind her stands a large statue of an open book, in which the names of Essex County's 57 victims of the attacks are set in iron. Behind it, a statue of an eagle, wings open, soars majestically, as if flying from New York City.

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Most visitors requested privacy, but a few were willing to speak to Patch about their feelings upon hearing the news.

Hugh Smith, of East Orange, said bin Laden got what he deserved, but expressed a measured reaction to the news.

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"Everybody who does wrong, eventually, if they do wrong or they continue to do wrong, they will eventually get what they deserve," he said.

"I don't rejoice in the death of anyone, because death is not nice regardless of what you've done, but its not something to rejoice over. It's just one person, I'm sure there's many more where that came from...me personally, its like, he's dead, he's dead. It doesn't really change anything. The same things are gonna be going on, wars here, wars there, somebody doesn't like this, somebody doesn't like that."

Cyrus Ferguson, also of East Orange, choked back tears as he spoke at the memorial, and expressed relief that the Al Qaeda symbol is no more.

"I know people that died there, but the problem I have, it changed a lot of stuff, it changed everything, and I just feel like it's retribution - an eye for an eye - that's all," he said.

He continued, "It's just little simple things that are just not the same anymore, everything is different. I just feel relief. I'm not happy about him being gone, just relief. what he did was not necessary, it wasn't necessary at all."

The memorial was opened just a year after 9/11 by the county because so many flocked to the site to take in the panoramic view of history as the towers fell. The Reservation borders Montclair, Verona and West Orange.


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