Photos: North Forkers mark 9/11 with solemn ceremonies

In somber recognition of the events 23 years ago on September 11, 2001, residents across the North Fork gathered to honor those lost in the attacks and their aftermath. Multiple ceremonies and events took place on Wednesday to commemorate the heroes and first responders who perished, as well as those who risked their lives that fateful day.

Southold Fire Department 

Members of the Southold Fire Department took a moment to reflect and honored the first responders who lost their lives by draping an American flag over the front of the firehouse. Southold is one of the few departments that still hosts a yearly 9/11 flag-raising ceremony, the department said in a statement, during which they share brief stories and memories of those who served.

“It’s a somber moment, especially for the older members who were either there on that day or helped in the aftermath,” the statement read. “The younger members, some of whom weren’t even born 23 years ago, also take part, ensuring that this legacy continues and it connects them to something that seems so long ago, but really wasn’t.”

Mattituck-Cutchogue Jr.-Sr. High School 

Mattituck-Cutchogue Jr.-Sr. High School faculty and students gathered with members from the Mattituck and Cutchogue fire departments and the Southold Town Police Department on Wednesday morning to commemorate 9/11 victims, heroes and first responders. 

The ceremony started at 8 a.m. in the front of the school flagpole, where the participating fire departments used their ladder trucks to display a large American flag. Members of the school’s NJROTC program raised the American flag to half staff, students sang the national anthem, played taps and speeches were given by Superintendent Shawn Petretti, principal Patrick Burke and members of the NJROTC.

Seventh through 12th graders walked a commemorate lap around the school’s track and planted daffodils bulbs around campus to pay tribute. 

World Trade Center Memorial Park in Calverton

Local officials and area residents gathered for a solemn 9/11 commemoration at the Hal Lindstrom designed World Trade Center Memorial on Riley Avenue, which Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard said is “a place where we can come and pray, meditate and remember, not only the tragedy, but who we are as a nation, and what the freedom bell means.”