WESTPORT — From a peninsula on the Westport shoreline 20 years ago, towering plumes of smoke billowing from lower Manhattan could be seen against remarkably clear late-summer skies. 

Earlier in the day, that smoking rubble had been the World Trade Center.

That day — Sept. 11, 2001 — proved to be a watershed for American loss, grief and consequential decisions. One of those decisions — launching a war against the attack’s terrorist organizers in Afghanistan — came to a chaotic end only days ago.

As the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks nears, the state has scheduled its annual tribute to Connecticut victims on Thursday, Sept. 9, at the memorial in Sherwood Island State Park.

The ceremony at the memorial for 161 victims with Connecticut ties to the attacks will take place at 5:30 p.m. Family members of those killed will participate in the event, according to ceremony planners.

The memorial is engraved with the names of Connecticut residents and others with state links who were killed in the attacks. 

The Westport site was chosen for the 9/11 memorial because, in the hours following the attacks, people gathered there to observe the devastation smoldering from lower Manhattan.

The location was also used by the Connecticut National Guard in days immediately following the attacks as a staging area for Connecticut’s relief efforts to New York City.

The state annually holds its official ceremony prior to the Sept. 11 anniversary to accommodate families and friends of victims who wish to attend the memorial ceremony at the site of the World Trade Center in New York City on the actual date.

For those unable attend the state ceremony, the Connecticut Network is expected to live stream the Sept. 9 ceremony from Westport at www.ct-n.com. An on-demand video will also be made available on the network’s website shortly after the event’s conclusion.