Marking a quarter-century since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, approximately 400 people assembled on the shoreline of Sherwood Island State Park to honor the 161 victims with ties to Connecticut. The solemn gathering brought together grieving family members, state leaders, and local residents who shared tearful remembrances and renewed their shared commitment to keeping the legacies of their lost loved ones alive for future generations.
The annual "Connecticut Remembers September 11th Memorial Ceremony" took place on a hazy late Wednesday afternoon at the state park's southernmost point, where the coastline extends furthest into Long Island Sound. Gray skies blended with the calm water lapping against the beach, obscuring the distant Manhattan skyline where the World Trade Center towers once stood visible across the horizon.
The park itself carries profound historical significance as a poignant symbol of the tragedy's immediate aftermath. Twenty-five years earlier, state emergency officials quickly organized a staging ground at the park, assembling a fleet of ambulances prepared to transport injured survivors arriving from lower Manhattan across the water. Tragically, those emergency response vehicles remained largely idle throughout that agonizing afternoon in 2001, as the catastrophic fires and sudden collapse of the Twin Towers left heartbreakingly few survivors to treat.
Now, a quarter-century later, an entire generation has reached adulthood with no living memory or personal recollection of the attacks that reshaped the nation. As the natural passage of time gradually diminishes the number of people who experienced that morning firsthand, the memorial underscored an urgent transition from living memory to active, enduring storytelling.
Among those present in the crowd of hundreds was Tom Huebner of Milford, who had arrived at the state park alongside his daughter. Moved by the significance of the occasion and the quiet solemnity of the memorial setting, Huebner decided to stay and participate in the state's annual commemoration alongside the victims' families.
The ceremony featured deeply moving personal reflections, including an emotional address by Trevor Ugolyn, whose older brother, Tyler Ugolyn, was killed at age 23 in the North Tower. Tyler, a former Columbia University basketball standout from Ridgefield, had been working on the 93rd floor as a biotech stock analyst for Fred Alger Management when the building was struck.
Trevor, who was a college sophomore watching television in disbelief when the towers fell, recalled desperately placing unanswered phone calls to his brother's office that morning. Speaking under a tent near the memorial garden, Trevor revealed that while he spent the better part of twenty-five years mourning largely in private, becoming a father to two young boys shifted his understanding of his responsibility to remember.
Addressing the gathering, Trevor explained that his relationship with Tyler was never severed by the tragedy but rather transformed into an enduring presence that continues to shape his life and character. He recounted how he constantly sees Tyler’s vibrant spirit, competitive drive, humor, and compassion reflected in his own sons, who know their late uncle intimately despite never having had the opportunity to meet him in person.
Tyler's legacy continues through concrete community initiatives, including a weekly youth basketball program he established for children in Harlem while attending Columbia University—a tradition that has been maintained and expanded over the decades through a foundation carrying his name. Trevor emphasized that keeping such legacies meaningful requires proactive storytellers who recount not only how the victims died, but more importantly, the purposeful ways in which they lived.
Another powerful voice of remembrance came from Sophie Pelletier Martinelli, whose 36-year-old husband, Mike Pelletier of Greenwich, lost his life while working as a commodities broker for Cantor Fitzgerald. She reflected candidly on how their lives were permanently upended twenty-five years ago, forcing families to confront the unthinkable reality of sudden, profound loss.
Pelletier Martinelli described resilience not as the complete disappearance of grief or an unbroken feeling of strength, but as a deliberate and continuous choice regarding what to build around that pain. She shared that her guiding purpose was demonstrating to her children that love remains far stronger than evil, finding the strength to keep going forward one day and one moment at a time.
Brian Mattiello, the former director of the Connecticut Office of Family Support who served as the event's host, addressed the audience from the podium to emphasize the permanent significance of the milestone. Mattiello stressed that those who died on Sept. 11 must never be reduced to a mere date on a calendar or a footnote in history, urging attendees to honor the fallen through the way they choose to live their own lives.
Connecticut deliberately schedules its Sherwood Island commemoration several days prior to the official anniversary ceremonies in lower Manhattan. This timing provides bereaved family members with the dedicated opportunity to honor their loved ones within their home state while still allowing them to attend the larger memorial events at Ground Zero later in the week.
As the ceremony concluded, Gov. Ned Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz joined the attendees in a solemn procession. Looking out across Long Island Sound toward the hazy void where the Twin Towers once stood, Lamont remarked that the tragedy still feels as though it happened yesterday, reminding those gathered of the powerful sense of shared humanity that briefly brought people together in the wake of that historic day.
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