Southold to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 victims with 2,977 flags

Southold residents will place 2,977 American flags throughout Jean Cochran Park on Friday, Sept. 11, marking 25 years since the terrorist attacks killed nearly 3,000 people, the Southold Town 9/11 Committee announced Wednesday.

Members of the Southold Town 9/11 Committee and local Scouts will welcome the public beginning at 5 p.m. Each flag will honor one of the 2,977 people killed on 9/11, when 19 Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes, crashing two into the World Trade Center towers in New York City and another into the Pentagon.

Passengers and crew members aboard the fourth plane, Flight 93, fought back against the hijackers before the aircraft crashed near Shanksville, Pa. The attacks claimed the lives of 2,753 in New York, 184 at the Pentagon and 40 aboard Flight 93.

At 6 p.m., local fire departments will hold a 15-minute remembrance ceremony. The public is invited to remain at the park until all the flags have been placed.

The Southold Town Fire Chiefs’ Council includes the Orient, East Marion, Greenport, Southold, Cutchogue, Mattituck, Plum Island, Fishers Island and Shelter Island fire departments.

Riverhead Town will hold its own 25th-anniversary memorial ceremony at 10 a.m. Sept. 11 at World Trade Center Memorial Park, at the corner of Edwards and Riley avenues in Calverton. Town Hall will delay opening until 11:30 a.m. to allow employees to attend.

A separate National Day of Service will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, at Calverton National Cemetery. Following a brief ceremony, volunteers will spend several hours weeding the cemetery’s planting beds.