Massachusetts Honors 9/11 Victims At JFK Library

BOSTON, MA — Local and state officials remembered the victims of the September 11 attacks at a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

The observance Saturday morning, which marked 20 years since the terror attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 American lives, included a flag raising on the plaza outside the library. Officials read the names of the 206 Massachusetts residents, and people with Bay State ties, who were killed in the attacks.

Gov. Charlie Baker, Acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey and U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh were in attendance. The ceremony included a flyover by the 104th Fighter Wing.

Lieutenant Gov. Karyn Polito presented the Madeline Amy Sweeney Award for Civilian Bravery, named after an Acton resident and flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11 who relayed critical details about the hijackers and their actions before the plane struck the North Tower.

The 2021 award was given to Annette Szivos, a Gardner woman who saved a man from drowning at Dunn State Park in June.

Szivos was at the park with her grandchildren when she heard screams coming from the water. She jumped in and helped keep the man's head above water while she brought him to shore.

The annual award is given to civilians to exhibit "exceptional bravery, without regard for personal safety, in an effort to save the lives of another or others in actual imminent danger."