As Capt. Michael Nortier delivered a speech on the 14th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that shook the United States, the rumble of an aircraft taking off behind him caused him to stop.

“I pause for the sound of freedom,” he said.

The effect went well with Nortier’s message as he spoke about the country’s resolve before a gathering of about 75 people who attended a ceremony at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station to remember the nearly 3,000 people lost during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Navy personnel, firefighters from three different agencies and representative from the Oak Harbor Police Department were among those who attended the short ceremony.

It started at 8 a.m., near the time of the attacks, and included a prayer led by chaplain Marc Diconti, the raising of the American flag to half-mast, and bell ringing ceremony.

The Patriot Day event remembered the first responders who were lost on the day four jets were hijacked with two crashing into the World Trade Center in New York, another into the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., and one into a field in Pennsylvania.

“We are also reminded of the tenacity, spirit and determination of the American people,” Nortier, the base’s commanding officer, said of the anniversary.

“Those of us who wear the uniforms of our nation stand shoulder to shoulder with those who wear uniforms of our states, cities and counties — as brothers and sisters.”

Also in attendance was a touring group of U.S. Naval Academy graduates from 1955.