Mass. Set To Mark Anniversary Of Sept. 11 Attacks

Massachusetts is marking the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks with public and private memorial services.

The Saturday anniversary began with a morning wreath laying ceremony at the 9/11 Contemplative Garden in the Boston Public Garden. .

Also this morning, Sept. 11 family members and public officials including Gov. Deval Patrick gather on the steps of the Statehouse.

The remembrance includes a flag lowering ceremony, the playing of "Taps" and a minute of silence before the names of Massachusetts residents who died in the attacks are read out loud. Among the victims of the attacks, 206 men and women with direct ties to Massachusetts died.

At 9:30 a.m., the annual Madeline Amy Sweeney Award for Civilian Bravery will be presented during a ceremony inside the Statehouse. The award is named for a flight attendant who died in the attacks.

After the event, Patrick, Brown and other officials will gather for a ceremony at the Massachusetts Fallen Firefighters Memorial, located in a small park next to the Statehouse.

At Logan International Airport, American Airlines and United Airlines will conduct private memorials at the departure gates of Flight 11 and Flight 175. The two hijacked planes that felled the World Trade Center took off from the airport.

Nearly 3,000 people died in the 2001 attacks.

Communities across the state will hold their own remembrances, including candlelight vigils in Shrewsbury and East Longmeadow, the ringing of chapel bells at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and an interfaith prayer service in front of Haverhill City Hall.

To help mark the anniversary as a day of service, volunteers will also spend three hours, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. assembling care packages to be shipped to military personnel from Massachusetts stationed overseas on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.