PORTLAND, Maine — With flags at half-staff, many Mainers are marking the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks by giving blood. Firefighters and police also gathered in Portland, where two of the 9/11 hijackers set that fateful day in motion.
Fire Chief Jerome LaMoria and Police Chief Michael Sauschuck participated in the wreath-laying ceremony in Portland.
The ringleader of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks started the day at Portland International Jetport. Mohamed Atta and Abdulaziz Alomari flew to Boston, where they boarded a jet that Atta flew into the World Trade Center.
Among the Maine victims were retirees Jackie and Robert Norton of Lubec and Portland lawyer James Roux, who were on hijacked planes, along with Stephen Ward, a Gorham native in the north tower; and Navy Cmdr. Robert Allan Schlegel at the Pentagon.