Ceremonies big and small recall Sept. 11

September 11, 2008 10:20 AM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

(Mark Wilson/Globe Staff)

Barbara Wright laid a wreath in memory of her friend Betty Ong, a flight attendant from Andover who was killed on American Airlines flight 11.

By Ryan Kost, Globe Correspondent, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

ANDOVER -- A flag stood at half staff in a leafy patch of grass near the heart of this small town. Around it were reminders of the dead. Five green wreaths with red, white, and blue flowers; red, white, and blue ribbons; and the names printed in gold.

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)
Rose and Kayla Perkins at the State House ceremony.

Andover may be some 220 miles from Lower Manhattan and almost twice as far from the Pentagon or that field in Pennsylvania, but the attacks of Sept. 11 still resonate here. Four residents were killed seven years ago, and another died while serving in Afghanistan. The town has held a ceremony every year since to keep their memories alive.

"We must not forget that we must remain united. This is more evident some eight weeks before a national election," said Michael Burke, Andover's director of veterans' services. "If we do not fulfill our responsibility to remember 9/11 … then who will?"

The ceremony was small, book-ended in prayer, and included brief remarks and the mournful wail of a bagpipe playing "Amazing Grace." More than 100 people stood around that flag pole, some wearing what looked like church clothes: dresses, collared shirts, and pressed slacks. Others appeared to have been passing by and were drawn to the ceremony clutching their morning cups of coffee, or wearing sneakers and running shorts, standing up in the crisp morning air, goose bumps on their legs.

At the State House in Boston, a trumpet played a somber rendition of Taps. Governor Deval Patrick and other state officials gathered with nearly 200 family members, friends, and supporters of Sept. 11 victims. It took 15 minutes to read the 210 names of the Massachusetts victims.

In the House chamber, a civilian bravery award was given in the name of Amy Sweeney, a heroic flight attendant from Acton aboard Flight 11. And later, firefighters will remember the event -- and their fallen colleagues -- with a ceremony at the Massachusetts Fallen Firefighters Memorial outside the State House.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino laid a wreath at a Sept. 11 memorial in Boston's Public Garden. Other ceremonies are being held in the city and in communities throughout the state.
At Logan International Airport, there was a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., the moment the first plane hit the north tower of the World Trade Center. United and American Airlines held private memorials near their gates.

A public memorial service will take place in the airport chapel at noon. Shuttle buses will run all day to Logan's new Sept. 11 memorial, which was dedicated on Tuesday.

The victims from Andover were spread throughout that tragic day. One died on American Airlines Flight 77, which was crashed into the Pentagon. Another worked at Zurich Scudder Investments in the World Trade Center. Two were on American Airlines Flight 11, including flight attendant Betty Ong.

"It's very important for me to be here in my hometown," said Barbara Wright, a Delta flight attendant from Andover and friend of Ong. "Sept. 11 changed it dramatically."

Globe staff writer John C. Drake contributed to this report.