(WKBN) – It’s been 22 years since the tragic events of 9/11, and locally, ceremonies took place to honor the fallen.

On that day, a bad ear ache forced Roberta Simeone to call off from her job as a flight attendant with American Airlines.

Simeone, who grew up in Newton Falls, told an audience at Austintown’s annual 9/11 Memorial Service that she had been looking forward to working Flight 77 from Washington to Los Angeles.

“It’s amazing how fast a pity party can change to a prayer of thanksgiving,” she said.

At 9:37 a.m. that morning, Flight 77 became the third airliner to be taken down by terrorists, crashing into the Pentagon, killing everyone on board, including seven of her friends and coworkers.

“People I just flew with and laughed with were gone,” Simeone said.

Simeone has since retired from the airline and lives in Austintown. She admits that her brush with death left her with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I’ve had plenty of counseling, but the horror never really goes away. It simply gets easier to handle with God’s help,” she said.

Simeone said talking to groups about her experience helps ease her fears and keep the memories of her lost friends alive.

She said Austintown’s memorial park serves as a healing space for herself and others who have been affected by the terrorist attacks from 22 years ago.

“I hope this place here lasts forever so all can remember and pray the horror of that day never happens again,” she said.

Last year was the first year that the township hosted the 9/11 Memorial Event with the park finished.

There are pieces of the wreckage from the towers displayed at the park. The Austintown Beautification Committee said the reason for the park was so future generations would know of the tragedy that changed our lives forever.

Other ceremonies are also scheduled locally.

In Boardman, there was a 21-gun salute with the Marine Corps League Color Guard and local first responders at Mission BBQ.

The food chain opened on September 11, 2011 — 10 years after the terrorist attacks changed the country, killing thousands of people. Monday’s ceremony served to honor the men and women who were victims and heroes of the attacks.

“The terrorist attack was aimed at the heart of America to discourage Americans, but they completely failed because they don’t understand that the heart and the soul is not in a concrete structure, but it’s within the heart and the soul of the American people,” said Mark Carver with the Marine Corps League.

Mission BBQ is honoring first responders by giving them free sandwiches. Policemen, firemen and EMTs can stop in to either the Boardman or Niles location all day on Monday.

In Vienna, the township gathered together to honor the victims of September 11.

The ceremony included the ringing of a bell, which is a 200-year-old tradition to mark the passing of a firefighter. Its significance is the bell was once used to signal an alarm when firefighters were called into action and when the call was completed.

Nearly 350 first responders were killed in the terror attacks.

A permanent 9/11 memorial sits outside of the Vienna Fire Department. It’s a representation of the Twin Towers made out of steel from the rubble at Ground Zero.

“We got the artifacts in 2011 and we started that year. From there, we’ve done it every single year,” said the Vienna Fire Department’s Lieutenant John Hinely.

Hinely says they appreciate the community’s support for their annual dedication ceremony.