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A Dozen Years Later: A Nation Still Remembers

(First Photo) Maui first responders join hands along with staffers from the The Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas, guests and beachgoers Wednesday morning in commemoration of Patriot Day, the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, as resort cultural adviser Makalapua Kanuha leads the singing of “Hawaii Aloha.” The third-annual commemoration paid tribute to families, volunteers and first responders for their heroism and sacrifices that day. It began with an oli and conch shell ceremony performed by Kamaunu Kahaialii, followed by Hawaiian chants by Kanuha. At the end of the ceremony, Kanuha finished by saying, “Let us not forget.”

(Second Photo) Retired New York City Fire Marshall Lou Rossi of Long Island chats with new friends after paddling out in an outrigger canoe (third photo) to help spread flowers in the ocean as part of Wednesday’s ceremony. “It made my week,” Rossi said. “I was very upset not being with my brothers in New York.” Rossi said he lost his work partner, Ron Bucca, in the attacks on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about it. I’m never gonna forget.”

(Fourth Photo) Maui Fire Department personnel stand at attention and observe a moment of silence at 8:44 a.m. Wednesday at the Kahului Fire Station during a 12th anniversary memorial of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. Nearly 3,000 people died. Fire Chief Jeff Murray said the Maui event was a tribute to “our fallen emergency workers of which 343 were firefighters.”

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