A quarter of a century after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, hundreds of mourners, family members, and community leaders assembled along the shoreline of Westport, Connecticut, to pay tribute to the 161 state residents who lost their lives. The annual "Connecticut Remembers September 11th Memorial Ceremony," held at Sherwood Island State Park, marked a significant milestone as the nation reached 25 years since the tragedy that reshaped the world.
Under a hazy, slate-gray sky late Wednesday afternoon, the waters of Long Island Sound lapped quietly against the park's beach. Sherwood Island, which represents the southernmost point in the state jutting into the sound, offers a direct line of sight toward the Manhattan skyline, though the atmospheric haze on Wednesday obscured the distant view where the World Trade Center towers once stood.
The park itself holds a deep and poignant historical connection to the day of the disaster. Twenty-five years earlier, state emergency officials had quickly transformed Sherwood Island into a staging area, assembling a large fleet of ambulances in anticipation of treating and transporting survivors across the water. Instead, those emergency vehicles remained largely idle throughout that harrowing afternoon in 2001, as the catastrophic collapse and fires at the Twin Towers left few injured survivors to rescue.
With an entire generation having now grown into adulthood without any personal recollection of the attacks, the gathering of roughly 400 people underscored the ongoing transition of Sept. 11 from contemporary living memory into historical legacy. Attendees came together beneath an open-air tent near the memorial garden to weep, reflect, and share testimonials honoring spouses, brothers, sisters, neighbors, and friends.
Among the featured speakers was Trevor Ugolyn, who was a sophomore in college when the planes struck the towers. He recounted the horror of watching the destruction unfold on live television while placing frantic, unanswered telephone calls to his 23-year-old brother, Tyler Ugolyn.
Tyler, a native of Ridgefield and a former standout basketball player for Columbia University, was working on the 93rd floor of the North Tower as a biotechnology stock analyst for the investment firm Fred Alger Management. He perished alongside thousands of others when the building collapsed.
Addressing the audience in halting and deeply emotional remarks, Trevor explained that after keeping his grief largely private for 25 years, his perspective shifted as he became a parent. Now raising two young sons who remind him of himself and Tyler in their youth, he recognized that preserving the memory of those lost requires deliberate public engagement to bridge the generational divide.
He spoke about how Tyler's spirit lives on, not only within his family but through ongoing philanthropic efforts. While studying at Columbia, Tyler had established a weekly basketball clinic for local children in the surrounding Harlem neighborhood, an initiative that has since been maintained and expanded through a dedicated foundation bearing his name.
Trevor noted that while his sons never had the chance to meet their late uncle, they know his character through the stories shared at home and reflected in their own daily lives. He urged those in attendance to recognize that as the population of people with firsthand recollections of 2001 naturally diminishes over time, active storytelling becomes essential to ensure the fallen are celebrated for how they lived rather than solely remembered for how they died.
The assembly also heard from Sophie Pelletier Martinelli, whose late husband, Mike Pelletier, was killed during the attack. The 36-year-old Greenwich resident had been working as a commodities broker for Cantor Fitzgerald inside the World Trade Center complex when the building was struck.
Reflecting on the 25-year journey of grief and recovery, Martinelli spoke movingly about the sudden trauma of that morning and the difficult path forward. She emphasized that while the profound pain of the loss was unavoidable, surviving family members were left with a crucial choice regarding how to rebuild their lives in the aftermath.
Martinelli shared that her primary mission in the wake of the tragedy was demonstrating to her children that enduring love remains stronger than hatred and malice. She described resilience not as the total absence of grief or fear, but as the steady, determined choice to keep persevering through hardship one day and one moment at a time.
Connecticut intentionally organizes its memorial service at Sherwood Island a few days prior to the official Sept. 11 anniversary ceremonies held in lower Manhattan. This deliberate scheduling allows surviving family members and local residents the opportunity to take part in the state's intimate tribute before traveling into New York City for the larger national commemorations.
The ceremony was hosted by Brian Mattiello, the former director of the Connecticut Office of Family Support. In his remarks from the podium, Mattiello stressed that the passage of time would never diminish the relevance of the anniversary, nor would the victims ever be reduced to mere statistics or dates on a calendar. He urged the audience to honor the departed by reflecting on the values they exemplified.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont attended the observance and looked out across the gray horizon toward New York, remarking that the events of that day still feel fresh in the mind despite the passage of a quarter-century. Lamont noted that in the midst of overwhelming sorrow, the tragedy brought about a unifying realization of common humanity that bound communities together across the region.
The gathering attracted a wide cross-section of the public, including everyday park visitors such as Tom Huebner of Milford, who had arrived at the park with his daughter and chose to stay to pay his respects alongside the bereaved families. The solemn event concluded with Gov. Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz leading attendees across the grounds toward the memorial site overlooking the water.
(0)