Maryland pauses to mark 25 years since 9/11 attacks, honoring victims and hero first responders

Communities across Maryland are taking a solemn moment to reflect and remember the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on Thursday, which marks 25 years since the day that changed the nation forever. 

Neighbors in Harford County gathered to honor those who died, while Baltimore County first responders vowed to never forget the heroes who answered the call to help. In Anne Arundel County, the loss is fresh, as some continue to pass of 9/11-related illnesses.  

Honoring local victims in Harford County

Harford County paused for a county-wide moment of silence Friday morning to honor the victims of the 9/11 attacks, including two of its own who died that day.

Retired Staff Sgt. Willie Troy lived at Aberdeen Proving Ground and was working at the Pentagon when the plane struck the west side of the building. Joseph Maggitti, of Abingdon, was at the North Tower for a meeting on the 49th floor. 

Personnel and equipment from Aberdeen Proving Ground were also deployed to assist in the rescue and recovery missions, as well as in the War on Terror. 

For many in the DMV region, that day was a call back into service, including Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly. 

"I was the mayor of Bel Air on 9/11, and then not long after that, I spent 10 years engaged in the War on Terror and spent three years in Iraq," Cassilly said Friday. 

For some neighbors, the memories of 9/11 are still vivid. Retired Chief Warrant Officer John Dittus was in the Marine Reserves based on Long Island, and he remembers how the day began. 

"The pain of that, 25 years later, still stings," said Dittus. "Driving from Beltsville, Maryland, where I worked, into New York City to get to my reserve center in Long Island, over the Verrazzano Bridge and seeing the World Trade Center — I used to drive over that bridge all the time, and you would see the World Trade Center prominent. And on that day, there was nothing but smoke; it was gone. That's the memory I have of that day."

Dittus served two tours with the U.S. Marine Corps, including deploying to the Middle East after the 9/11 attacks, and was the commanding officer for a Marine reserve center in New York.

As we reflect and remember 25 years later, he and others in the community are calling for unity. 

"It's not what I hope people remember about that day. It's what I hope people remember about the day after, when we were united as one nation," Dittus added. 

Remembering first responders in Baltimore County

In Baltimore County, first responders are committed to never forgetting those who answered the call on 9/11.

On Friday morning, the Baltimore County Fire Department and Police Department honored the hundreds of first responders killed in the attacks, plus the hundreds who have died from 9/11-related illnesses since.

The bell outside Fire Station 10 in Parkville tolled 343 times. 

"One for each of the heroes that were lost on that fateful day," said Baltimore County Fire Chief Joseph Dixon. 

"We also honor all those who are killed in the Twin Towers and at the Pentagon, as well as the passengers and crew members," added Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier.

One resident, named Ann, spoke about the bravery on display that day. 

"What they went through, how horrible it must have been," she said. "Who goes into these burning buildings, or whatever, every day of their lives? That was no less a day for them. They went right to work."

Dixon said it reflects the commitment to show up, no matter what. 

"We are here in times of peace. We're here in times of war, but we want to make a difference," he said. "We're part of the fabric of the community."

"A loss whose consequences continue to be felt"

Friday's ceremony in Anne Arundel County was a reminder that, for many local families and first responders, the impact of 9/11 is still very personal. 

Every Sept. 11, Louis Jerez, of Pasadena, attends the ceremony holding a poster of his cousin, Angel Louis Juarbe Jr. The New York City firefighter was helping people evacuate when the South Tower collapsed. 

"I kept hope, I went to Yankee Stadium for the memorial... We had to face reality eventually when they found him," said Jerez. 

This year, he brought another picture — this one of his brother, who helped with the recovery at Ground Zero. He died just months ago from illnesses related to toxin exposure. 

"He was my baby brother," Jerez said. 

Twenty-five years later, the ceremony honored those killed that day and those who have become sick or died in the years since. 

"September 11, therefore, remains not simply an event in history, but a loss whose consequences continue to be felt by families and first responder communities today," Anne Arundel County Fire Capt. Jennifer Macallair said. 

After the attacks, Anne Arundel County first responders volunteered at Ground Zero, the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

"An entire generation of firefighters, police officers, paramedics and community members has come of age with no personal memory of that morning. Making gatherings like this all the more important," Macallair added. 

Friday's ceremony was held in front of the county's 9/11 memorial, which is made of two steel beams from the World Trade Center that were acquired by the fire department in 2010.