9/11 memorial ceremony at Garden of Reflection honors victims from Bucks County
YARDLEY, Pa. (CBS) -- A ceremony at the Garden of Reflection in Bucks County on Monday honored the 18 victims who were residents of the county.
The 22nd anniversary ceremony was both intimate and emotional as dozens gathered to remember lives lost on 9/11. Many people said every year is just as painful as the last.
With prayer and reflection, mourners stood side by side Monday at the Garden of Reflection Memorial in Yardley. The purpose was to ensure that the lives lost on 9/11 were not forgotten.
The memorial, which sits in the park's center, was dedicated in 2006. Since then, there have been yearly ceremonies in honor of the 18 residents of Bucks County, including nine from Lower Makefield Township who died during the attacks.
Tara Bane lost her husband in the attacks. Michael Bane is the first name on the memorial.
"It's a hard balance between celebrating the lives that we lost and acknowledging the horrific events," Tara Bane said. "It's my way to honor Michael and to make it known that his life mattered and he shouldn't be forgotten."
She joined grieving loved ones from Bucks County to Philadelphia, everyone agreeing that even with 22 years behind them, the memories are still as vivid as ever before.
"It's not like a 24/7 thought, because you know that they're going to pop in your head at any time with some kind of memory or something that makes you smile," Elsie Goss-Caldwell, who lost a son, said. "That's a wonderful thing."
The ceremony ended with a moment of silence along with time to sit and visit the memorial.