Across Europe and the Middle East, U.S. military communities are holding various observances Thursday to mark the second anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in New York, outside Washington and Pennsylvania. More than 3,000 people died.

Scores of military communities on this side of the Atlantic are planning a memorial or prayer service to commemorate the occasion.

In England, the service at RAF Lakenheath, for example, will poignantly end with the traditional missing-man flyover formation. Meanwhile, the mayor of Schinnen in the Netherlands plans to attend the 254th Base Support Battalion observance.

The folks assigned to Naval Support Activity Gaeta will congregate at Old Mill Inn Park for a 6 p.m. memorial service, followed by an informal picnic.

Both events represent “a gathering of our community,” said Cmdr. Stephen Pike, a Navy chaplain. “It’s a remembrance ceremony, and a ceremony of hope.”

In Wiesbaden, Germany, plans call for two worship services and a 5 p.m. wreath-laying ceremony outside the main airfield gate. The arrangement will arrive courtesy of the Rhein Valley Harley-Davidson Owners Group.

And American Forces Network program officials intend to rebroadcast “A Tuesday in September,” which first aired last year. The 30-minute, award-winning show is an AFN television production by Kane Farabaugh.

“It’s an exceptionally well-done piece,” said George Smith, broadcast operations officer for AFN-Europe. “It’s very moving.”

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