Washington, September 12: US President Barack Obama called on Americans to “renew our common purpose” Friday as he marked the eighth anniversary of the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Speaking under rainy skies at the Pentagon, where 184 people died when American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the facility, Obama said, “On a day when others sought to sap our confidence, let us renew our common purpose; let us remember how we came together as one nation, as one people, as Americans, united not only in our grief but in our resolve to stand with one another, to stand up for the country we all love.”
Obama, who designated Sept 11 as a national day of remembrance and service, said coming together as a nation is “the strongest rebuke to those who attack us” as well as paying the “highest tribute” to those who died.
“That is our calling today and in all the Septembers still to come,” he said.
Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Americans shared “common sorrow” for the lives lost in Washington, New York and Pennsylvania.
“Our grief is real and it is warranted,” he said. “But if I may, let me ask and let me urge that we look upon this day not only with sorrow, but also with hope for the future that those we honour wanted us to have, and gratitude for the life they wanted us to live.”
Words are inadequate to “remove the pain of that loss”, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said, but “in the lives of those patriots, we can find some solace.”
After their remarks, Obama, Mullen and Gates participated in a wreath-laying ceremony.
The eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York City was observed in services amid a steady downpour of rain on Friday.
Hundreds were on hand for the ceremony in Lower Manhattan to hear the names of over 2700 people who perished read by friends and loved ones.
Four bells were tolled during the ceremony, with the first marking the time the initial plane struck the World Trade Centre’s North Tower.
US Vice-President Joe Biden spoke after the second bell sounded.
He told the crowd, “(T)here is a special fraternity for those of us who have lost spouses and children.”
Biden was referring to his first wife and infant daughter who were killed years ago in a car crash.
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—Agencies