New York, September 12: A day of mourning also became a day of service Friday as Americans observed the eighth anniversary of 9/11 with acts of kindness, as well as the usual remembrances at three locations scarred by terror attacks that killed almost 3,000.
In a ceremony in lower Manhattan, service volunteers teamed with victims’ relatives to read names of those who died at the World Trade Center after terrorists hijacked two planes and flew them into the city’s two tallest buildings.
PRESIDENT’S ACTIVITIES: Obama presides over D.C. tributes
It marked the first time volunteers joined in the reading, and coincided with the first observation of Sept. 11 as a federally-sanctioned National Day of Service and Remembrance.
“It’s a way to honor those who died, and to preserve the day’s meaning,” said Jay Winuk, whose brother Glenn died when the Trade Center’s South Tower collapsed.
In addition to remembering the attacks themselves, he said, “future generations must learn of the compassionate response. When the chips were as down as they could possibly be, people stepped forward to help.”
Wind and rain kept crowd sizes down on the streets around what was Ground Zero and is now a construction site. But several hundred victims’ relatives gathered at a park near the Trade Center site as the names of the fallen were read.
They wore rain ponchos and struggled to hold golf umbrellas erect against the wind.
Some relatives who read the names offered personal messages to the departed.
“This is not the rain,” said a weeping Vladimir Boyarsky, who lost his son Gennady on 9/11. “This is the tears.”
Although the public was not admitted to the ceremony, some stood nearby to pay their respects and tend their memories.
“I come here every year, because I never want to forget what happened that day,” said Lawrence Appleman, a financial services worker who recalled running north up Broadway on the same day eight years earlier.
“It would take more than rain to keep me away,” he said. “This is nothing compared to 9/11.”
Michael Bloomberg— the only New York mayor ever to preside at the annual commemoration ceremony — said that in addition to remembering the dead, it was important to recall “all those who rush forward spontaneously to help, whenever and however they could.”
Vice President Biden spoke during a pause in the reading of the names, telling the victims’ relatives “there’s a special fraternity for those of us who’ve lost spouses and children.” Biden’s daughter and first wife died in a 1972 automobile accident.
As always, there were four moments of silence for when the jetliners crashed into each tower and when each tower collapsed.
Americans also gathered outside Washington and Shanksville, Pa., where hijacked planes also crashed with devastating consequences.
Under a steady rain at the Pentagon, President Obama pledged to continue to pursue those responsible for the attack ” and who plot against us still.” He laid a wreath at the site of the crash, and then met with some relatives of the 184 people who died there.
“The men and women who lost their lives eight years ago today leave a legacy that still shines brightly in the darkness and that calls on all of us to be strong and firm and united,” Obama said. “That is our calling today and in all the Septembers still to come.”
Obama, who was accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama, also paid tribute to service members who have been fighting almost continuously since the attacks.
He called them “young Americans raised in a time of peace and plenty who saw their nation in its hour of need and said, ‘I choose to serve’; ‘I will do my part.’ ”
Earlier, at the White House the Obamas and some 200 members of the White House staff stood in silence at the White House to remember the victims of 9/11.
A bell tolled three times as the Obamas stood with their heads bowed. They then put their hands on their hearts as a military trumpeter played Taps.
The one-minute ceremony took place at 8:46 a.m., the moment at which the first plane stuck a tower at the World Trade Center.
In Pennsylvania, hundreds gathered under gray skies at the spot where United Flight 93 crashed after it was hijacked. It’s thought that some passengers tried to take control of the plane before it went down, probably en route to a target in Washington.
In a keynote speech, former Secretary of State Colin Powell called the 40 victims worthy successors to the heroes of U.S. battles dating back to the Revolutionary War. He told victims’ families that while their losses are painful, thousands of lives were saved.
Meanwhile, Americans across the nation observed the day by volunteering their time for service.
In Chicago Heights, Ill., students in the American Government class Tiffany Bohm teaches at Prairie State College gathered to kick off a project to collect 2,974 pairs of shoes — one for each 9/11 victim — to give to homeless and other needy people.
The idea, the instructor said, is to encourage the students — most of whom were children on 9/11 — “to get involved with their civic responsibilities and show them they can make a difference.”
—Agencies