On September 11, 2026, the City of Warwick commemmorated the victims, survivors, families and first responders of the 9/11 attacks. As part of the ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial Garden in Oakland Beach, we planted an Eastern White Pine, also known as "The Peace Tree." Chief Darrell Waldron presided over the planting ceremony.
As we gathered to plant this Eastern White Pine, we did so in solemn remembrance of the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001. We remembered the lives taken in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in the field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. We honored the families who still carry that loss, the first responders who ran toward danger, and all who served, healed, rebuilt, and held one another up in the days and years that followed.
A quarter century later, remembrance is not only an act of looking back. It is a promise: to carry forward the names, the courage, the grief, and the unity that emerged from that day. This ceremony was one way we keep that promise. We placed roots into the earth so memory has a living form. We planted not only a tree, but a sign of resilience, peace, and responsibility for generations who did not witness that morning but must still understand its meaning.
When we stand before the Eastern White Pine, we stand before more than a tree. We stand before a living witness—one of New England’s defining giants, a tree that has shaped landscapes, sheltered life, and carried meaning across generations. In the colonial era, its tallest and straightest trunks were so valued that they were marked with the King’s Arrow and claimed for the Royal Navy. Today, the white pine remains a symbol of endurance, recognized as the state tree of Maine and Michigan and rooted across New England, the Canadian Maritime Provinces, the upper Midwest, and the Appalachian Mountains. Some white pines live more than 200 years; one recorded tree reached 450 They can rise 100 to 150 feet into the sky, making them New England’s tallest trees—towering reminders of strength, patience, and time.
And this tree does not stand alone. It gives life. Near water, eagles, great blue herons, and osprey nest and perch in its high branches. Deeper in the woods, it creates shelter for tanagers, warblers, and hawks. The white pine is not simply part of the forest, it is a home, a refuge, and a gathering place for the living world.
May this White Pine be our living tribute. May its roots hold memory. May its branches offer shelter. May its height remind us to rise above hatred. And may all who pass this tree in the years ahead understand that peace is not passive, remembrance is not finished, and hope must be planted—again and again—by human hands.