Nation pauses on 9/11 to honor victims

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Life in lower Manhattan resembled any ordinary day Wednesday as workers rushed to their jobs in the muggy heat, but time stood still at the World Trade Center site while families wept for loved ones who perished in the terror attacks 12 years ago.

For the families, the memories of that day are still vivid, the pain still acute. Some who read the names of a beloved big brother or a cherished daughter could hardly speak through their tears.

“Has it really been 12 years? Or 12 days? Sometimes, it feels the same,” said Michael Fox, speaking aloud to his brother, Jeffrey, who perished in the south tower.

On the memorial plaza overlooking two reflecting pools in the imprint of the twin towers, relatives recited the names of the nearly 3,000 people who died when hijacked jets crashed into the towers, the Pentagon and in a field near Shanksville, Pa. They also recognized the victims of the 1993 trade center bombing.

Bells tolled to mark the planes hitting the towers and the moments when the skyscrapers fell.

In Washington, President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and wife Jill Biden walked out to the White House’s South Lawn for a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. — the time the first plane struck the south tower in New York. Another jetliner struck the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m.

“Our hearts still ache for the futures snatched away, the lives that might have been,” Obama said.

A moment of silence also was held at the U.S. Capitol.

In New York, loved ones milled around the memorial site, making rubbings of names, putting flowers by the names of victims and weeping, arm-in-arm. Former Gov. George Pataki, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and others were in attendance. As with last year, no politicians spoke. Mayor Michael Bloomberg watched the ceremony for his final time in office.

The anniversary arrived amid changes at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, where construction started Tuesday on a new visitor center. On Wednesday, the families of the passengers and crew aboard United Flight 93 recalled their loved ones as heroes for their unselfish and quick actions. The plane was hijacked with the likely goal of crashing it into the White House or Capitol, but passengers tried to overwhelm the attackers and the plane crashed into the field. All aboard died.

Outside Washington, hundreds of people gathered for a short, simple ceremony at an Arlington County plaza three miles from the Pentagon. First responders from the county were among the first on the scene that day.

Fire Chief James Schwartz said ceremonies like Wednesday’s — which featured an honor guard and a moment of silence — serve as a reminder of why first-responders spend so much time preparing for disaster.

Around the world, thousands of volunteers pledged to do good deeds, honoring an anniversary that was designated a National Day of Service and Remembrance in 2009.

By next year’s anniversary, a 9/11 museum is expected to be open beneath the memorial plaza in New York City. While the memorial honors those killed, the museum is intended to present a broader picture, including the experiences of survivors and first-responders.