New Jersey community remembers victims of Sept. 11 attack

SEWELL, N.J. (CBS) — On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists hijacked planes and attacked the United States, Jeannie Trombetta penned a poem to channel the nation's grief.

"When I awoke this morning how was I to know. The heavy burden I would be leaving behind. As I left the house this morning," she wrote, in part.

Twenty-three years later, we haven't forgotten the 2,977 lives lost.

Joyce Rodak's husband, John, was 39 and working at a small investment firm on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center.

"John was just intelligent, fun, quiet, loving, he loved coming home to his quiet place in Sewell, New Jersey," Rodak said.

She remembers him heading into the office that morning for a quick meeting, just before they were supposed to leave for a family vacation.

"John called me and he told me that it was just pandemonium there. Just as he said that I watched the plane hit my husband's tower, and at that point my whole life was just … changed forever," Rodak said.

Their Washington Township community planted flags on the McGuinness Funeral Home lawn, one for each victim, including first responders.

Rodak says she feels her husband's spirit closely, especially looking at her granddaughter, Angelina, born on Sept. 11, 2023, a special reminder of John.

"She weighed 9 pounds, 3 ounces, which is the time the planes hit my husband's tower," Rodak said.