Nanticoke Area fifth-grade students attended the Luzerne County Community College 9/11 memorial ceremony.
Communities gathered Friday in schools and churches, in parks and around flagpoles and monuments.
Twenty-five years after the worst terrorist attacks in American history, people took time to remember.
During solemn ceremonies across Northeast and Central Pennsylvania, community members gathered to reflect and speak about the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001.
At the Luzerne County Courthouse, County Manager Romilda Crocamo recalled how she worked in Manhattan and watched the attacks happen. She lost a cousin that day. County Councilwoman Dawn Simmons also worked in New York that day. Both women stressed the need for unity and the need to get back to how America came together on Sept. 12, 2001.
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Romilda Crocamo, Luzerne County manager, opens the 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at the Luzerne County Courthouse on Friday morning. A large flag was draped from the third floor of the rotunda. Crocamo spoke of her experience in the city and her personal loss in the Twin Towers.
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Luzerne County Councilwoman Dawn Simmons speaks about her experience on Sept. 11 and the good witnessed in such an awful time. Working in New York that morning she remembered the humanity people showed to others. She witnessed someone helping carry an elderly woman and others helping one another.
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The audience listens to stories told of Sept. 11.
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People stand at attention during the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner.
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Romilda Crocamo, Luzerne County manager, opens the 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at the Luzerne County Courthouse on Friday morning.
Aimee Dilger / WVIA News
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The Luzerne County Corrections Honor Guard presented the flag and stood alongside the speakers.
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Judge Mark Bufalino speaks at the Luzerne County Courthouse during the 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony.
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A slideshow of Sept. 11 is shown during the ceremony.
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Former Swoyersville Mayor Christopher Concert read a piece he wrote called "Can We Still Stand United."
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At Luzerne County Community College, many first responders gathered at the school's Walk of Honor. Felix Danz, a Geisinger Life Flight pilot and U.S. Army and Coast Guard veteran, spoke about his brother, Vin Danz. He was a New York Police Department officer who lost his life in the attacks.
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Chandler Prymowicz, Nanticoke City firefighter, stands on the ladder truck at attention during the Pledge of Allegiance.
Aimee Dilger / WVIA News
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Felix Danz, pilot for Geisinger Life Flight, was the keynote speaker at the Sept. 11 remembrance ceremony at Luzerne County Community College. Danz spoke of his brother Vincent Danz of the New York Police Department, who was one of the first police officers to be killed in the terrorist attack on Sept. 11.
Aimee Dilger / WVIA News
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Firefighters stand at attention during the playing of the National Anthem at Luzerne County Community College.
Aimee Dilger / WVIA News
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Nanticoke Fire Chief Mark Boncal rings the bell for the Final Alarm Ceremony.
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Honor flags with the names of 9/11 victims lined the LCCC Walk of Honor memorial space.
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A Nanticoke fire captain wears a mourning band over his badge to remember those lost on 9/11.
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John Yudichak, Luzerne County Community College president, unveiled the plaque honoring NYPD officer Vincent Danz with Chelsea Bresnahan, Felix Danz and Lisa Baker.
Aimee Dilger / WVIA News
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Firefighters and members of Life Flight were recognized for their service during the ceremony at Luzerne County Community College.
Aimee Dilger / WVIA News
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The Vincent Ganz plaque is next to Michael Scott Carlos at the LCCC Walk of Honor.
Aimee Dilger / WVIA News
In Clarks Summit, they gathered to remember Laura Lee DeFazio Morabito, a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11 when it hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
Meanwhile, a generation has reached adulthood without living through Sept. 11.
Some students, including those at Lackawanna Trail and Montrose, placed nearly 3,000 flags in the ground. Each flag represented a life lost on that day. Choirs from many schools participated in ceremonies.
Students at other schools, including Misericordia University and Abington Heights High School, climbed 110 stories — or about 2,000 steps — to represent the height of the World Trade Center towers and honor first responders.
Aimee Dilger
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WVIA News
A firefighter stands at attention under the American Flag while the Nanticoke Fire Department performs the Flag Ceremony.
Aimee Dilger
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WVIA News
Nanticoke Fire Chief Mark Boncal stands beside a piece of a steel beam from the World Trade Center, before the Final Alarm Ceremony bell ringing.
Sarah Hofius Hall has covered education in Northeast Pennsylvania for almost two decades. She visits the region's classrooms and reports on issues important to students, teachers, families and taxpayers. Her reporting ranges from covering controversial school closure plans and analyzing test scores to uncovering wasteful spending and highlighting the inspirational work done by the region's educators. Her work has been recognized by the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, Society of Professional Journalists and Pennsylvania Women's Press Association.
