The Prince William Joint Color Guard presented the colors at the county’s Liberty Memorial to open a 9/11 ceremony 21 years after terrorists flew two airplanes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center and another into the Pentagon. Passengers took control of a fourth airplane, bound for the U.S. Capitol building, and crashed it into a field in Shanksville, Pa.
In all, 2,996 people died on September 11, 2001. Prince William County lost 22 residents, more than any other jurisdiction in the region.