HARTFORD — Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he is directing US and state flags in Connecticut lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Wednesday, September 11, in remembrance of the nearly 3,000 people who were killed in the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

The governor additionally announced the state will illuminate the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge in New Haven — informally known by many residents as the Q Bridge — in red, white, and blue lights beginning at dusk on the evenings of Tuesday and Wednesday, September 10 and 11, 2024, in recognition of the anniversary of the attacks. Beacons capable of projecting light nearly six miles into the clear night sky will be lit until the early morning hours.

“The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, took the lives of thousands of innocent people, including many from Connecticut, and we will forever pay tribute to those we lost all too soon,” Lamont said. “That day 23 years ago is one of the darkest in our nation’s history, and we must use this anniversary to reflect about the ideals that unite us as Americans and to recommit ourselves to improving our country and the world for the better. We honor the heroism of the first responders who courageously put their own lives on the line to protect complete strangers, and we pay tribute to the brave servicemembers of the United States Armed Forces who serve our nation and protect our freedoms, especially those whose lives were lost in the ongoing battle to keep us safe since 2001.”

Lt Governor Susan Bysiewicz on Tuesday said the “country experienced a significant tragedy 23 years ago on [9/11], when terrorist attacks took the lives of thousands of innocent victims, including 161 individuals with ties to Connecticut.

“This day reminds us of those we’ve lost, the first responders who heroically risked their lives for the safety of others, and the resiliency of America,” Bysiewicz added. “The State of Connecticut, Governor Lamont, and I will never forget the victims or their loved ones for the sacrifices that they have made and the tragedies they have endured. Our hearts, our thoughts, and our prayers are with each of them — always.”

Connecticut’s official memorial honoring the victims of the attacks is located on a peninsula at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport, where on a clear day the Manhattan skyline can be viewed across Long Island Sound.

The memorial features stones engraved with the names of the 161 people with ties to Connecticut who were killed in the attacks. The state park was chosen as the site for the memorial because it is the location where, in the hours immediately following the attacks in 2001, many people gathered to observe the smoke and devastation on Lower Manhattan from across Long Island Sound.

Additionally, the site was used immediately after the attacks by the Connecticut National Guard as a staging area for Connecticut’s relief efforts to New York City.

Connecticut’s annual ceremony at Sherwood Island State Park was conducted on September 5. Family members of those who were killed in the attacks were invited to participate, and the names of the 161 victims with ties to Connecticut were read aloud.

Every year, the State of Connecticut intentionally schedules its official memorial ceremony to be held several days prior to the actual anniversary to accommodate the family members and friends of the victims. Because Connecticut is in such proximity to New York City, many family members and friends who live in the state choose to also attend the annual ceremony that is held at the site of the World Trade Center on September 11.

Connecticut Remembers

The 161 people with ties to Connecticut who were killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, as reported by the Office of Governor Ned Lamont:

Laurence Abel

Bryan C. Bennett

Jeffrey D. Bittner

Christopher J. Blackwell, FDNY

Allen Patrick Boyle

Alexander Braginsky

Francis Henry (Frank) Brennan

Thomas M. Brennan

Joseph M. Calandrillo

Edward Calderon

Sandra Campbell

Alejandro Castano

Juan Ceballos

Stephen P. Cherry

Kevin F. Cleary, Esq

Geoffrey W. Cloud

Keith Eugene Coleman

Scott Thomas Coleman

Margaret Conner

Kevin P. Connors

Joseph John Coppo

Dolores Costa

Brian Thomas Cummins

Paul Curioli

Patrick Danahy

Anthony Demas

Lt. Kevin Donnelly, FDNY

John Bruce Eagleson

Michael Egan

Ulf Ramm Ericson

Eric B. Evans

Wendy R. Faulkner

Edward T. Fergus, Jr.

Bradley Fetchet

Paul M. Fiori

John Fiorito

Bennett Lawson Fisher

Peter C. Fry

Richard Peter Gabriel, Sr

Richard S. Gabrielle

James A. Gadiel

Thomas E. Galvin

Osseni Mama Garba

Christopher Samuel Gardner

Peter Alan Gay

Peter Gerard Gelinas

Robert Gerlich

Lawrence Getzfred

Evan Hunter Gillette

Ronald Gilligan

Steven Lawrence Glick

Wilder A. Gomez

Kiran Kumar Reddy Gopu

Edwin J. Graf, III

Donald F. Greene

James A. Greenleaf, Jr

Pedro Grehan

James D. Halvorson

Sean S. Hanley

Christine Lee Hanson

Peter Burton Hanson

Sue Kim Hanson

Timothy John Hargrave

Michele Heidenberger

H. Joseph Heller

John Henwood

Robert Higley, II

James J. Hobin

Judith Florence Hofmiller

Paul R. Hughes

William Christopher Hunt

Thomas Edward Hynes

John F. Iskyan

Ariel Louis Jacobs

Michael Grady Jacobs

Mark Steven Jardim

Robert Thomas Jordan

Richard M. Keane

Peter R. Kellerman

Maurice Patrick Kelly

William Hill Kelly, Jr

Amy King

Glenn Davis Kirwin

Stephen LaMantia

Gary E. Lasko

Robert A. Lawrence, Jr

Joseph A. Lenihan

Adam J. Lewis

Steven B. Lillianthal

Garry W. Lozier

Michael J. Lyons

Edward "Teddy" F. Maloney

Ada Mason

Kevin Michael McCarthy

Juliana McCourt

Ruth McCourt

Eamon McEneaney

Michael G. McGinty

Francis McGuinn

William J. Meehan, Jr

Eskedar Melaku

Raymond Joseph Metz, III

Joel Miller

Michael M. Miller

Cheryl Ann Monyak

Lindsay S. Morehouse

Jude Moussa

Cesar A. Murillo

Christopher William White Murphy

Daniel Robert Nolan

Robert W. Noonan

Timothy M. O'Brien

Scott J. O'Brien

James Andrew O'Grady

Christopher Orgielewicz

Margaret Quinn Orloske

Thomas Anthony Palazzo

James Matthew Patrick

Mike A. Pelletier

Joshua Piver

Roger Mark Rasweiler

Jean Destrehan Roger

Sean P. Rooney

Michael C. Rothberg

Jason E. Sabbag

Jesus Sanchez

Stacey Leigh Sanders

Sean Schielke

John B. Schwartz

Randy Scott

Barbara A. Shaw

Michael John Simon

Heather Lee Smith

Dianne Bullis Snyder

Gregory T. Spagnoletti

George E. Spencer, III

Derek J. Statkevicus

Craig William Staub

Andrew Stergiopoulos

Madeline Sweeney

Michael C. Tarrou

Thomas F. Theurkauf, Jr

Eric Raymond Thorpe

Amy E. Toyen

Tyler Ugolyn

Jonathan J. Uman

Allen V. Upton

Bradley H. Vadas

Edward Raymond Vanacore

Frederick Varacchi

James Thomas Waters, Jr

Jeffrey David Wiener

Candace Lee Williams

John P. Williamson

William Eben Wilson

David H. Winton

Christopher W. Wodenshek

Martin Phillips Wohlforth

John Works

Edward P. York

Charles A. Zion