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Americans across the country remember September 11
10 MINUTE READ
September 11, 2021

By  Linda Epstein and Noelani Kirschner

NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 11: The ‘Tribute in Light’ rises skyward on the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, September 11, 2019 in New York City. Throughout the United States services are being held to mark the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to remember the 2,977 people who were killed in New York, the Pentagon and in a field in rural Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

In the 20 years since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Americans have gathered on the anniversary to remember the nearly 3,000 people who died in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania, as well as the first responders who put their lives on the line to save victims.

Here’s a glimpse at how first responders around the United States have commemorated their lost colleagues over the past two decades.

 

LONG BEACH, CA - SEPTEMBER 11: City officials, employees, fire and police personnel along with members of the community gathered in remembrance of the tragic events of September 11, 18 years ago. Mayor Robert Garcia shared a few words and the crowd observed a moment of silence at fire station 1 in Long Beach on Wednesday, September 11, 2019. (Photo by Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images)
LONG BEACH, CA – SEPTEMBER 11: City officials, employees, fire and police personnel along with members of the community gathered in remembrance of the tragic events of September 11, 18 years ago. Mayor Robert Garcia shared a few words and the crowd observed a moment of silence at fire station 1 in Long Beach on Wednesday, September 11, 2019. (Photo by Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images)

In Long Beach, California, city officials, firefighters, police personnel (pictured here) and members of the community observed a moment of silence on September 11, 2019.

 

The “Patriot Flag,” a flag flown in honor of the military, first responders, and families of the victim of 9/11, is raised on a fire truck ladder at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011. The flag has flown in all fifty states over fifty weeks, according to organizers. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The Patriot Flag — which honors the military, first responders and families of the victims of 9/11 — is raised on a fire truck ladder at Arlington National Cemetery in  Virginia in 2011. The flag flew in all 50 states over 50 weeks to mark the 10th anniversary of the attacks.

 

At left, a soldier at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York holds pictures of Ruben Correa, a firefighter who died during the attacks. The COVID-19 pandemic required the 2020 ceremony to follow strict health protocols.

At right, retired New York City firefighter Bruce Stanley holds a portrait of his friend Liam Smith Jr., a New York City firefighter who died in the 9/11 attacks. Stanley and other first responders commemorated 9/11 victims at the National September 11 Memorial on September 11, 2018.

 

 

First responders hold the National September 11 flag during a ceremony in Joplin, Mo., Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011 marking the end of the 50 state restoration tour. The final stitches are being placed in Joplin and then the flag will go to the National 9/11 Memorial Museum. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
First responders hold the National September 11 flag during a ceremony in Joplin, Mo., Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011 marking the end of the 50 state restoration tour. The final stitches are being placed in Joplin and then the flag will go to the National 9/11 Memorial Museum. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

First responders hold the Patriot Flag during a ceremony in Joplin, Missouri, on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The flag is now displayed at the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York.

 

Orlando Fire and Police Honor Guard members light candles honoring the firefighters and law enforcement officers killed in the 911 attacks in New York during a September 11 Remembrance Ceremony at the City of Orlando Fire Station Number One on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019, in Orlando, Fla. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Orlando Fire and Police Honor Guard members light candles honoring the firefighters and law enforcement officers killed in the 911 attacks in New York during a September 11 Remembrance Ceremony at the City of Orlando Fire Station Number One on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019, in Orlando, Fla. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

During a 2019 September 11 remembrance ceremony in Orlando, Florida, fire and police honor guard members light candles to remember firefighters and law enforcement officers killed in the attacks.

 

 

At left, fire chiefs Willie Robinson (left) and Freddie Stallings (right) sing during a worship service at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral in Jackson, Mississippi. The service commemorated 9/11 victims and first responders on September 11, 2013, the 12th anniversary of the attacks.

At center, a U.S. Marine honor guardsman holds a bugle during a September 11, 2020, memorial ceremony in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Two residents of the town died in the attacks.

At right, first responders, military service members, dignitaries and civilians gather outdoors at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California, on September 11, 2020.

 

 

A sailor walk past a flag aboard the USS Somerset Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014, in Philadelphia. The amphibious transport dock scheduled to be commissioned March 1, is the last of three vessels honoring 9/11 victims and first responders. It joins the USS New York and the USS Arlington. The ship is named for the county where Flight 93 crashed after being hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
A sailor walk past a flag aboard the USS Somerset Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014, in Philadelphia. The amphibious transport dock scheduled to be commissioned March 1, is the last of three vessels honoring 9/11 victims and first responders. It joins the USS New York and the USS Arlington. The ship is named for the county where Flight 93 crashed after being hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

In Philadelphia, a sailor walks past a flag aboard the USS Somerset in 2014. The ship is named for the Pennsylvania county where Flight 93 crashed after it was hijacked September 11, 2001. It was the last of three vessels honoring the attacks’ victims and first responders. Two other ships, the USS New York and the USS Arlington, are named for the cities that were attacked.

 

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 11: New York City Police Officer Danny Shea, a military vet, salutes at the North pool of the 9/11 Memorial during the tenth anniversary ceremonies of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center site, September 11, 2011 in New York City. New York City and the nation are commemorating the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on lower Manhattan which resulted in the deaths of 2,753 people after two hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center. (Photo by David Handschuh-Pool/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 11: New York City Police Officer Danny Shea, a military vet, salutes at the North pool of the 9/11 Memorial during the tenth anniversary ceremonies of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center site, September 11, 2011 in New York City. New York City and the nation are commemorating the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on lower Manhattan which resulted in the deaths of 2,753 people after two hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center. (Photo by David Handschuh-Pool/Getty Images)

New York City Police Officer Danny Shea, a military veteran, salutes at the North Pool of the 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Center site on the 10th anniversary of the attacks.