Exactly seven years ago, the nation was changed forever when nearly 3,000 people were killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, including 156 people with ties to the state.

On Thursday, communities throughout southwestern Connecticut remembered those victims.

Weston mourned six residents lost in the terrorist attacks at a service by a small bench where the fallen residents' names are engraved. During the ceremony, town officials also hung an American flag containing all the victims' names at half-mast.

In Darien, residents, town officials and emergency workers paid their respects to those who died by laying flowers at the town's 9/11 monument behind the Middlesex Middle School.

Milford Mayor Jim Richetelli led his own town's ceremony at Live Oaks School, where a garden is dedicated to Michael Miller and Avnash Patel - two former students killed in the 2001 attacks.

And bells tolled in Fairfield, while a flag meant to honor fallen rescuers flew from a fire truck at the town fire department. New Canaan, too, remembered emergency workers, as its first responders gathered at Town Hall.

To see the entire Sept. 11 Ground Zero ceremony, go to iO Extra, Channel 612 on your iO digital cable box.

Southwestern Connecticut communities honor Sept. 11 victims

Darien Sept. 11 memorial services

Fairfield Sept. 11 memorial services

Bridgeport Sept. 11 memorial services