It’s been 21 years since the 9/11 attacks. Here’s how the Lowcountry is remembering

Beaufort County residents will remember the lives lost in the 2001 terrorist attacks in ceremonies and events Sunday, the 21st anniversary of 9/11.

Here’s what is planned:

Bluffton

The town will honor the 2,977 people killed in the attacks at 8:30 a.m. Sunday at the Bluffton Veterans Memorial at Buckwalter Place Park.

The featured speaker will be Roy “J.R.” Brown, the founder/CEO of Operation Patriots Forward Operating Base, a local organization dedicated to supporting first responders and military veterans.

Mayor Lisa Sulka and Police Department Chaplain Paul Hamilton will speak as well. The Honor Guard ROTC/Bluffton High School Honor Guard and Cross School Choir will participate.

Beaufort

Ann Van Hine, whose husband, Richard Bruce Van Hine, a firefighter who was killed on Sept. 11 trying to save civilians trapped in the South Tower of the World Trade Center, will speak at 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11 at Saint Helena‘s Anglican Church, 505 Church St., in Beaufort.

The public is welcome.

A walk from Waterfront Park to the church also is planned at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

Van Hine wrote a book about her experience called “Pieces Falling: Navigating 9/11 with Faith, Family & the FDNY, and has led walking tours of the National 9/11 Memorial. Her story, according to her website, also is included in the Netflix documentary “Turning Point 9/11.”

Van Hine will also speak and sign books from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Beaufort Bookstore, 2127 Boundary St.

The city of Beaufort and town of Port Royal are not conducting a separate events.

National observances

President Joe Biden will mark the 21st anniversary by laying a wreath at the Pentagon on Sunday, the White House said.

First Lady Jill Biden will speak at the Flight 93 National Memorial Observance in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, while Vice President Kamala Harris will be at a commemoration ceremony at the National September 11th Memorial in New York City.

Hijackers with al-Qaida crashed commercial planes into New York’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11, 2001. A third plane crashed into Pennsylvania field. About 3,000 people altogether died in the attacks.