Fourteen years ago, an attack on American soil shocked the country and defined a new sense of patriotism.

Lives in the United States — and across the globe — have changed since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Many people will stop what they are doing Friday morning to remember the 9/11 tragedy.

Volunteers with the Camaraderie Foundation spent hours preparing for Friday's event at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Orlando.

Volunteers spent the pre-dawn hours planting 17,000 American flags to raise awareness about service members who need the support of their community — and beyond.

In Central Florida, there are about 85,000 men and women who have deployed since 2001. According to statistics, about 20 percent of those will come back with invisible wounds, like post-traumatic stress disorder or brain injuries.

"This visual display of these 17,000 flags represents those men and women that have courageously served and need our help when they come home," said Marnie Waldrop, co-founder of the Camaraderie Foundation.

The Camaraderie Foundation is a local nonprofit organization that offers free counseling help for service members, partners and children.


Here's how one homeowner is observing the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks 14 years later. (Mitch Krause, Viewer)


(Julie Gargotta, Staff)


Cocoa Beach Fire Station No. 51 pays tribute to the 9/11 attacks that happened Sept. 11, 2001. (Becky Crisafulli, Viewer)