Jersey City’s annual 9/11 remembrance ceremony marked the 20th anniversary of the attacks.

The Jersey City waterfront area became a triage area for survivors escaping lower Manhattan by ferry, the only way out at that point. Then for weeks later, the city became a staging zone for rescue workers heading into ground zero for rescue and recovery efforts.

Jersey City immediately became that largest triage center on 911 with this backdrop of the Hudson River.

The city’s annual ceremony has the backdrop of New York City’s Freedom Tower and ground zero.

Jersey City's 9/11 memorial features twisted steel beams from the towers, sculpted to form a letter A for America. There is also a black granite memorial stone naming the fallen Jersey City residents.

Victim’s families and friends discussed their loved ones and honored their memories at the ceremony.

With Jersey City and Hudson County so close to ground zero, so many people commuted into lower Manhattan.

Emergency responders didn't hesitate to provide assistance and medical treatment to the thousand who fled to Jersey City by boat.

While no Jersey City firefighters were lost the day of 9/11, many have died since of related illnesses from working on the pile and nearby after the towers fell.

The Jersey City mayor was a young college grad working in the financial district in 2001. He says he watched the towers fall while on one of the many boats coming back to Jersey City. A few days later, he joined the marines.