Harford County Remembers 9/11 With Patriot Ride, Flags, Tributes

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — Two men from Harford County were among the nearly 3,000 people killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Both were remembered at events nationwide while the United States collectively mourned the event's 20-year anniversary.

An Aberdeen Proving Ground resident was killed at the Pentagon, and an Abingdon resident died at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

On the 20-year commemoration of 9/11, firefighters converged at the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company Saturday morning in remembrance of those who lost their lives in and as a result of the 9/11 attacks.

Local leaders and first responders marked the occasion with a ceremony on Hickory Avenue.

The town of Bel Air posted a tribute on its marquee, as did Bel Air High School. Both planted flags in remembrance of the victims as well.

A 9/11 Patriot Ride took motorcyclists from Darlington to Parkville. The event began at 8:46 a.m. on Sept. 11 with moments of silence, followed by an honor guard ceremony and special guest speakers.

One participant said the "procession went on for miles" in a show of patriotism.

The ride ended at McAvoy's bar in Parkville, where a candlelight vigil was held at 6:20 p.m.

We did the police escorted Ride to Remember today from Darlington to Parkville, MD. Very moving experience. Not sure the exact number of bikes but the procession went on for miles. What an experience. #Neverforget pic.twitter.com/W7xe3q8btv
— Principal Smith (@TomSmithYBES) September 11, 2021

Aberdeen Proving Ground held a virtual Patriot Day commemoration.

Staff Sgt. Willie Q. Troy, 51, who lived at Aberdeen Proving Ground, was among the more than 100 military and civilian personnel who died at the Pentagon. His wife worked at the proving ground, and he worked at the Pentagon, getting up at 4:15 a.m. daily so he could take the MARC train to work, according to the Pentagon Memorial.

Troy was at the Pentagon when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed at 9:37 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001. All 64 people aboard perished.

Joseph V. Maggitti, 49, of Abingdon, died in the attack on the World Trade Center.

He was there for a business meeting at the headquarters of his employer, Marsh McLennan, which created a memorial for the 358 employees lost that day.

It took a week for Maggitti's body to be recovered, according to the Archdiocese of Baltimore, which reported he had been on the 94th floor of the North Tower. His daughter was a freshman at the John Carroll School at the time.

See Also:

• 2,974 Flags In Front Of Bel Air Town Hall Honor 9/11 Victims
• Harford County Executive On 9/11: 'We Should Never Forget'
• 9/11 Remembrance Event In Harford Features Survivor Of Attacks

More than 2,700 people died at the World Trade Center alone on 9/11, including the passengers of American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175. Another 44 died on United Airlines Flight 93 near Shanksville, Pa.

All 9/11 victims were remembered at memorial services across the nation on Sept. 11 to mark the 20th anniversary of the attacks.

At the 9/11 memorial in Lower Manhattan, New York — an area known for years after the attacks as “Ground Zero” — the names of the fallen were read aloud. Six moments of silence were observed, marking when each of the World Trade Center towers was struck and fell and the times corresponding to the attacks on the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93, according to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

The annual “Tribute of Light,” which are lights pointed to the sky in the shape of the Twin Towers, went on Saturday night in New York.

Similar displays illuminated the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pa.

See Also: 2,974 Flags In Front Of Bel Air Town Hall Honor 9/11 Victims