9/11 Memorial Unveiling Ceremony Set for Sunday

Volunteers worked day and night at Haverhill Firefighting Museum to prepare the memorial. (Courtesy photograph.)

A version of this story originally appeared Aug. 17.

A retired deputy director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will be featured guest speaker at next Sunday’s Sept. 11 memorial unveiling ceremony at the Haverhill Firefighting Museum.

Retired Deputy Director Joanne Crowley will also present the Haverhill museum a port authority flag, which will be raised during the unveiling ceremony, according to Patricia Graham, museum secretary.  The program, to take place Sunday, Sept. 11, 9:30 a.m. at the museum, 75 Kenoza Ave., will be led by retired Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent William J. White Jr., master of ceremonies.

“The memorial service will include participation by the Haverhill Police Department Honor Guard, Trinity EMS personnel and the Haverhill Fire Department Relief Association signaling the ‘Last Alarm,’ at the times when the World Trade Center towers fell,” Graham said. Bagpipes will accompany the presentation and the hanging of the port authority flag.

After the unveiling of a permanent, “perpetually illuminated” inscribed memorial sculpture, designed by artist Maria Fontaine, there will be a ceremonial reading of the names of the first responders that perished, Graham added.

An exhibit, “Through the Eyes of a First Responder,” chronicling the day’s events “from the perspective of those brave men and women who served and perished,” will open inside the museum. A film, “9/11 Remembering,” by Chris Bowden of HC Media, “capturing personal stories,” will also premiere.

Sponsors include Haverhill Bank, Trinity EMS, Kevin B. Comeau Funeral Home, HC Media, Neptune Uniforms and Equipment, Haverhill Rotary Club, Spaulding Brick, Pentucket Bank, Demers Plate Glass, Haverhill Fire Department Credit Union and “a generous community.”