1. The Pentagon, located just across the Potomac River from Maryland, was one of the four sites attacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001. The attack resulted in the deaths of 125 civilians and military personnel, including 70 Virginians and 12 Marylanders.

2. In the wake of the attacks, Maryland Governor Parris Glendening declared a state of emergency in order to give state and local authorities emergency powers to respond to possible threats. The state also activated its National Guard to provide additional security at key sites throughout the region.

3. Many Marylanders were directly impacted by the attacks. Among them was Derek Statkevicus, a Laurel, Maryland resident who was working on the 77th floor of the World Trade Center's South Tower when the first plane hit. He and his colleagues barely made it out alive before the tower collapsed. Statkevicus later wrote a book about his experience titled "On Higher Ground."

4. In the aftermath of the attacks, Maryland residents rallied together to support first responders, many of whom were from the state. The Maryland Comptroller's office started a fund to help the families of firefighters, police officers, and other emergency workers who lost their lives or were injured in the line of duty.

5. Finally, September 11 was also the day that marked the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the US embassy in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998. Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski marked the occasion by introducing a resolution in Congress that honored the victims of both attacks and called for increased international cooperation in the fight against terrorism.