Remembering 9/11 Victims From Columbia 20 Years Later

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Americans felt a collective trauma as first one and then another plane flew into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001. As the truth dawned on people watching from their TVs that America was under attack, another plane took aim at the Pentagon. A fourth was brought down in a field in Pennsylvania in a final act of heroism by passengers who realized their flight had been hijacked.

Nearly 3,000 Americans, including 4 from Howard County, were killed in the suicide attacks carried out by 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaida.

On the 20th anniversary of the attacks, we remember:

Sarah M. Clark, 65, Columbia, Aboard American Airlines Flight 77

Sarah was a sixth-grade teacher at Backus Middle School in Washington, D.C., the parent to two adult children and was engaged to be married to John Milton Wesley. Sarah was involved in a science and geography project and had been selected to attend an oceanographic expedition in Santa Barbara, California, accompanied by one of her students, 11-year-old Asia Cottom, as well as two other teachers and students. She left at 5:30 a.m. on Sept. 11 to meet Asia’s father at their home and drive to Dulles International Airport in Arlington, Virginia.

Col. Ronald F. Golinski, Pentagon

Golinski, a retired Army colonel, was working in a civilian job in the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel at the Pentagon. He’d held many positions during his 36-year Army career, including director of the Enlisted Personnel Management Directorate at the Army Reserve Personnel Command in St. Louis, Missouri. His awards include the Legion of Merit and the Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters. Golinski was married to his wife, Irene, and had three daughters, one of whom was married just nine days before the terror attacks.

Ian J. Gray, Aboard American Airlines Flight 77

Scottish-born Ian J. Gray was instrumental in the creation of McBee Associates, a national health-care finance and management consulting firm based in Columbia, Maryland. Gray emigrated from Scotland to the U.S. in 1968. He helped start McBee in the late 1970s. His wife, Ana Raley, was the chief executive of Greater Southeast Community Hospital. They had a daughter and a stepson. He enjoyed volunteering with the Special Olympics and the Art Deco Society of Washington.

Lt. J.G. Darin Howard Pontell, Pentagon

When he was just 14, Pontell knew he wanted to enlist in the Navy. His older brother Steven, a Navy pilot, had been killed not too long prior in a crash on the USS Lexington off Pensacola, Florida. Lt. J.G. Pontell graduated with honors from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. He married Devora Volk, an attorney, then began working at the Pentagon. He celebrated his 26th birthday a month before 9/11. During his naval career, he received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Naval Commendation Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal and the National Defense Service Medal. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal. Pontell was buried next to his brother in the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation Cemetery.

Remembrance ceremonies in New York

All 9/11 victims will be remembered at memorial services planned 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 will be read aloud.

“Throughout the ceremony, we will observe six moments of silence, acknowledging when each of the World Trade Center towers was struck and fell and the times corresponding to the attack on the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93,” the 9/11 Memorial & Museum wrote on its website.

The annual “Tribute of Light,” which are lights pointed to the sky in the shape of the Twin Towers, will go on that night.

Most 9/11 victims were from either New York or New Jersey, where many who lived across the Hudson River from the World Trade Center recall the horror of watching the twin towers collapse from their homes in Hoboken and Jersey City.

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 184 were killed when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into The Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and 44 died on United Airlines Flight 93 near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Local ways to remember 9/11

A wreath-laying ceremony will be held Saturday, Sept. 11, at 8:46 a.m., marking the time the first plane hit the north tower of the World Trade Center during the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. The ceremony will be held in the Garden of Hope located across from the white outdoor amphitheater at Centennial Park South. The ceremony will honor and pay tribute to the 2,977 victims who lost their lives during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks 20 years ago. Four Howard County residents were among those killed in the attacks.

The Hope and Peace Foundation will host a motorcycle memorial ride in Darlington starting at 8:46 a.m. on Sept. 11 with moments of silence, followed by an honor guard ceremony and special guest speakers. The ride will end at McAvoy’s bar in Parkville where there will be food and live music along with a candlelight vigil at 6:20 p.m. Proceeds from this event will go to America’s 9/11 Living Classroom, a traveling exhibit that tells the personal histories of people who died on Sept. 11, as well as the historical impact of the event.

On Sept. 10 at 6:30 p.m., the Towson Chamber of Commerce will host a concert at Patriot Plaza to celebrate local first responders in honor of 9/11. There will be music, food trucks and free admission for health care workers, firefighters, police and military. Tickets for all other attendees are $5. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

The Navy Midshipmen will square off against the Air Force Falcons in a game Sept. 11 that honors the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. The two teams typically play each other in October. Kick-off will be at 3:30 p.m. at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.

Partake in the Baltimore 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb Saturday starting at 9:30 a.m. Held in honor of the Fire Department of New York firefighters who served and died on Sept. 11, 2001, participants in the event spend hours climbing stairs at M&T Bank Stadium to equal the 110 stories within the World Trade Center.

On Sept. 11 of every year, the Baltimore World Trade Center hosts the 9/11 Memorial of Maryland, which is made from three 22-foot-long steel beams pulled from the wreckage of the New York World Trade Center. Limestone from the Pentagon grace the memorial, all which sit atop a marble platform that details the names and birthdays of the 68 Marylanders who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

On Sept. 10, the 9/11 Memorial of Maryland will be at the Youths Benefit Elementary School in Fallston on Rt. 152 at 5:30 p.m. as Cub Scouts place 2,977 American Flags for the victims of Sept. 11.

The United States Navy Band Country Current will perform at the National Harbor Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. outdoors. The concertis free and open to the public.

Ocean City will hold a lighting ceremony at its Firefighter Memorial located on the boardwalk now through Sept. 11. The city shines two beams of light in recognition of the twin towers, then plays two hours of video tributes onto a movie screen located on the beach. On Sept. 11 there will be a memorial service starting at 8:30 a.m. honoring local firefighters and 9/11 survivors.

Anne Arundel County will remember the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with a ceremony Saturday at 9:30 a.m. It will take place at the county's 9/11 memorial, which sits outside the Anne Arundel County Police Department Headquarters at 8495 Veterans Highway in Millersville. After a few remarks and a moment of silence, leaders will place a reflective wreath at the memorial.