No words were even necessary to convey the solemnness of the moment, just the silence, ribbons and people gathered in union.
About 75 people, mostly police and fire officials, gathered for a 9/11 remembrance ceremony Thursday at the Garden of Hope monument at Centennial Park in Ellicott City, a site designed and officially dedicated six years ago on the first anniversary of 9/11.
Light-purple ribbons were tied to a tree at the monument to remember those who died in the three terrorist attacks.
“It’s important to remember 9/11, and it serves as an opportunity to remember specific victims,” said Howard County Executive Ken Ulman after the event, which included no formal remarks.
“But it’s also a moment to remember all who have sacrificed themselves in our nation’s defense.”
Countless fire and rescue personnel and law enforcement officials from Maryland responded to the Pentagon attack, which killed 41 Marylanders who were either working inside the building or on the plane that crashed into it.
Howard fire and police personnel aided in the aftermath by sending some to New York City for about a month to assist in funeral arrangements for the nearly 3,000 who lost their lives at the World Trade Center, said Fire Chief Joseph Herr.
Soon after the incident, county officials learned that some of the hijackers stayed at the former Valencia Hotel in Laurel in the weeks leading up to the attacks.
Some Howard police officers, meanwhile, were part of a joint terrorism task force on a short-term basis.
“As you get farther away from 9/11, there’s a tendency maybe to not remember, so this is why we have this ceremony,” said Police Chief Bill McMahon.
Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-District 7, who represents parts of Howard, along with Baltimore City and Baltimore County, said efforts to improve homeland security were “as strong as ever.”
“That morning, our nation embarked upon a tireless journey that we still continue today. True heroes came forward in the form of first responders, law enforcement personnel and volunteers to aid these victims, often at the risk — and in many cases the sacrifice — of their own lives,” he said in a statement.
“In the past seven years, thousands of additional heroes have continued in this spirit, protecting our nation on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq.”
At Howard’s ceremony, Liane Sayers, of Hanover, watched and recalled where she was seven years ago as a kindergarten teacher at Holy Redeemer Elementary School in College Park.
Schools across the Baltimore region closed early Sept. 11, 2001, as the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., region remained on high alert and watched the developments unfold in disbelief.
For many, the day after the attacks posed a dilemma.
“I had 5- and 6-year-olds coming up to me the next day wanting to know what happened,” Sayers said.
“It was an interesting situation. We had to decide when to tell them and how to tell them.”
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GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
More than 45 Maryland residents were victims in the three Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
At the Pentagon, 41 Marylanders were among the 189 people who died.
One Marylander died among 40 total victims on Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa.
Of the 2,787 victims at the World Trade Center, four of them were from Maryland.
Sources: Flight 93 Memorial Project, The Associated Press
