By Sheila McLaughlin
Enquirer staff writer

John Dombroski and his three young children have occupied the same Loveland corner every Sept. 11 since 2002, and have assumed the same position - with a full-size American flag stretched out between them.

Members of the Southgate and Erlanger Color Guard march with the flag during the tribute to fallen firefighters at the World Peace Bell in Newport. (Enquirer photo/SARAH CONARD)

Saturday, like many other families across Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, the Dombroskis gathered to remember those who perished in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

They reflected on the day as they watched a solemn procession of firefighters and police officers from Hamilton, Clermont and Warren counties make their way under crossed fire truck ladders.

"We just should never forget what happened three years ago," said Dombroski, of Clermont County's Miami Township, "As my kids get older, I want them to remember what happened."

From Newport to Norwood, and Walnut Hills to Clermont County's Willowville, people paraded and prayed.

With patriotic pins, signs and T-shirts, some showed their support of the military fighting in Iraq. They offered quiet thanks to firefighters and police officers who helped in rescue efforts in New York City and Washington, D.C. They remembered the nearly 3,000 who died in the attacks.

At the Butler County Fairgrounds in Hamilton, a family cookout with country, bluegrass and gospel music raised money to send care packages to the HSC 216th Combat Engineer Battalion in Iraq and to help support soldiers' families.

In Erlanger, firefighters snaked through town in a candlelight vigil that ended with a memorial service at Lloyd High School.

The Loveland-Symmes Fire Department unveiled a new monument that included a piece of a steel beam from the World Trade Center.

Representative Rob Portman (R-Ohio) asked the crowd of hundreds there to pray for Spc. Keith Matthew Maupin, a Clermont County soldier who was captured in April when his convoy was attacked near Baghdad. Military officials have not been able to verify that it was Maupin in a video released by Arab television in June showing a man's execution.

Portman also applauded emergency responders and soldiers for their service during and after the terrorist attacks.

"These heroes, these patriots have shown us the way how to respond to those who mean us harm," Portman said. "We may be attacked by terrorists - and it may happen again - but we will not be defeated."

Sgt. Paul Brondhaver, an Anderson Township soldier injured during a grenade attack in Tikrit in July, challenged a small audience in Cincinnati's Eden Park to remember the "selfless service" of the men and women serving in Iraq every day.

Those troops are making the same type of sacrifice, he said, as the brave police and firefighters who rushed into burning World Trade Center towers.

"Everyone has a role in this," Brondhaver said. "This is one day out of the year, but we should remember what happened every day. Never forget - that's what keeps America strong."

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Dan Klepal contributed to this report. E-mail smclaughlin@enquirer.com