Three hundred and forty three American flags dotted the lawn outside Central Station of the Bangor Fire Department on Friday. Each flag, arranged in more than two dozen columns, represented a New York City firefighter who died on Sept. 11, 2001.
The flags, along with a folded set of firefighter equipment, were on the lawn of the fire station as part of a ceremony remembering the first responders who died on Sept. 11, 2001. Friday marked the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
Three events Friday in the Queen City commemorated the anniversary of 9/11; one at the Bangor International Airport, another at the Bangor Fire Department and a third on the Bangor Waterfront. The ceremony at the fire department acted as a remembrance for the more than 400 firefighters and police officers who died responding to the terrorist attacks in New York City.
At 8:46 a.m., the time when the first plane hit the North Tower, three rings of the bell outside the station echoed out. The rings symbolize the last call and return to quarters for a fallen firefighter. The rings were repeated two more times.
With Bangor, Brewer and Hermon firefighters standing alongside their fire engines, Bill Leighton, chaplain at the Bangor Fire Department, spoke about how many lives of community members, families and first responders changed on 9/11.
“Today, we honor all who were lost, all who served, and all those whose lives were forever changed. Although many years have passed, we gather here to make certain that their sacrifice on that day is never forgotten,” Leighton said.
Leighton, who was one of multiple speakers, said Friday was a “day of remembrance.” Conversations between community members in the crowd after the event showed that.
Small huddles of Mainers were sharing somber stories about what they were doing and their first reactions to seeing the 767s hit the North and South Towers after the event ended.
Like many others, Philip Drew, the Bangor City assessor, remembers where he was when the first tower was hit. Drew was working for the city and heard a report about a plane hitting the North Tower through a yellow radio.
At first, he thought someone had made a mistake by flying a small plane into one of the towers. When the second tower was hit, he knew it was an attack.
Members of the Honor Guard prepare to toll the bell as bunker gear rests in front of it during A Day of Remembrance ceremony at Central Station of the Bangor Fire Department marking the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN 
Felix, a Dalmatian, attends a remembrance ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11 with his owner, Tim Malikowski of Hampden, at Bangor Fire Department on Friday. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN 
Bangor Fire Department’s Central Station flies an American flag from Ladder 6 during A Day of Remembrance ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN
For the next four years, Drew was part of the patriotism that grew from the attacks as one of roughly 350 troop greeters at the Bangor International Airport. Going to the airport at all hours of the day and night, the group met American soldiers at their gate and cheered for them as they came and went from the Middle East.
The energy the group of greeters had was so palpable that soldiers occasionally asked if they were there waiting for celebrities. Drew said he’d respond by saying, “No, we’re here for you.”
Drew is one of millions of Americans who, in Leighton’s words, will “always remember and never forget.”
The bell was tolled nine more times to end the ceremony.