September 11 remembrance ceremonies held around Central Florida

Memorial service in Windermere honors victims of 9/11

A memorial service was held in Orange County on Friday to honor those lost in the attacks on September 11, 2001.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Several ceremonies were held across Central Florida to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the September 11th terror attacks.

Many of the ceremonies were held virtually due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, but some gathered publicly to remember the victims in the worst attack on American soil in our nation's history.

One of those gatherings was in Windermere, at the memorial behind Town Hall. Lenny Crisci was in attendance and lost a brother in the New York attack.

“My brother was a 25-year veteran of the FDNY. He was part of the elite hazmat unit and on September 11th he lost his life along with 19 of his fellow men in his company,” he said. "Nineteen years later my heart is still broken."

In Altamonte Springs, a homeowner displayed thousands of American flags representing each of the victims in the terrorist attacks.

Mitchell Krause said he has put together a memorial every year since the first anniversary, and in recent years, it has grown.

"About eight or nine years ago, I started to do a bigger one -- all 2,977 flags. I just want people to remember. Tthis is a way for me to remember them each year."