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Massachusetts Marks 18th Anniversary Of 9/11 Terrorist Attacks

BOSTON (CBS) – The 206 victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks who had ties to Massachusetts were remembered Wednesday, the 18th anniversary, at several events.

Read: Profiles Of Massachusetts 9/11 Victims

They began at 8:35 a.m. at the State House where a moment of silence was held and the names of the victims were read.

"Hearing our loved ones names said out loud really means a lot, it signifies people are not forgetting," said Christie Coombs, who lost her husband in the attacks.

At 8:46 a.m. there was a moment of silence at Logan Airport, the exact time the first plane crashed in Manhattan.

Inside the State House at 9:30 a.m., the Madeline Sweeney Award for Bravery was presented to Ross Dugan. He is an MBTA lineman who pulled people from a burning car on Route 24 in West Bridgewater on February 6.

Sweeney was a flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane to leave Logan Airport and crash into one of the World Trade Center towers in lower Manhattan. She called a ground supervisor and relayed information about the hijackers to investigators.

At 11 a.m. the 9.11 Tribute Service with Project 351 in support of the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund began on the Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston. Volunteers put together hundreds of care packages for the military and veterans in need.

At 1 p.m., Governor Charlie Baker, Mayor Marty Walsh and Police Commissioner William Gross attended the annual wreath laying ceremony at the 9-11 Memorial in the Boston Public Garden.

9/11 wreath
The wreath ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial in Boston's Public Garden. Sept. 11, 2019. (WBZ-TV)

At Fenway Park, the Red Cross teamed up with the Red Sox and other Boston organizations to host a "Day of Remembrance" blood drive.

"The service part is the way I really want people to remember our loved ones on 9/11 , because so much kindness and generosity came out of 9/11," Coombs told WBZ-TV.

"I know what the Red Cross can do in the times of real tragedies and chaos, so it's nice to be able to say to people, thank you for being here," said Rita DiGiovanni, who lost her nephew on 9/11.

For more information on the day's events, visit the Mass 9/11 Fund website.

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