9-11 Ceremony To Honor 11 MoCo Residents Who Died In Terrorist Attacks

ROCKVILLE, MD — Monday marks the 22nd anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. On that day, terrorists highjacked three passenger planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center towers in New York City and the Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia. A fourth hijacked plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Although 2,977 victims and 19 hijackers who committed murder–suicide died on that day, many survivors on the ground and in the buildings, including first responders, were injured or suffered adverse health conditions due to their exposure to the concrete dust, asbestos, and other contaminants at the crash sites.

A total of 6,314 survivors and first responders have died from cancer, mental health issues, and aerodigestive disorders, as well as musculoskeletal and acute traumatic injuries, originating from the 9-11 attacks as of June 30, 2023, according to the CDC.

On Monday, the City of Rockville will commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the 9-11 attacks by remembering the 11 Montgomery County residents who died on Sept. 11. They are: William Edward Caswell, Dr. Gerald Paul Fisher, Capt. Lawrence D. Getzfred, Michele M. Heidenberger, Angela Marie Houtz, Teddington Hamm Moy, Lt. Darin H. Pontell, Scott A. Powell, Todd Hayes Reuben, Patricia J. Statz, and Ernest M. Willcher.

The September 11 Remembrance Ceremony will take place Monday at 9 a.m., at the 9/11 memorial at Courthouse Square Park, which is located at Maryland Avenue and West Montgomery Avenue in Rockville.

The ceremony is free and open to the public. It will include a presentation of colors and Rockville Mayor Bridget Donell Newton will deliver remarks.