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Thirteen years after the terrorist attacks of September 11 killed thousands, Americans across the country marked the anniversary with ceremonies and silence.
New York held a moment of silence on Thursday at 8.46am, when the first plane struck the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. In Washington DC, President Obama and Vice-President Biden observed a moment of silence at the White House and a rendition of Taps. At dawn, an American flag was unfurled down the side of the Pentagon.
“Your love is the ultimate rebuke to the hatred of those who attacked us,” Obama said, speaking at the Pentagon to survivors of the attacks and victims’ families.
In New York, grieving relatives, many wearing light blue ribbons and carrying pictures of their loved ones, gathered under overcast skies for the annual 9/11 memorial ceremony.
The tribute began with a moment of silence and the singing of the national anthem by opera singer Alaysha Fox. Then the reading of the almost 3,000 names of those who died in the attacks at the WTC, at the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The roll call paused only four times to mark the moments when the planes struck the WTC, and when the towers fell.
Jeanette Kirby, a reader at Thursday’s ceremony, said that every year her sister’s name, Vivian Casalduc, is read incorrectly.
“I just wanted one year to hear her name said correctly,” said Kirby, who wore the blue ribbon on her lapel. She had lived in New York, but moved to Florida after 9/11. It was her first time visiting the grounds where her sister was killed.
The ceremony largely followed the events from last year, but this year, the National September 11 Memorial Museum is open for the first time on an anniversary.
Kirby said she was initially apprehensive about visiting the museum, especially the gift shop.
“The museum is overwhelming,” she said. “I really didn’t know what to expect but they did a beautiful job. It’s really a moving tribute for everyone whose lost someone and I felt it did my sister justice.” As for the gift shop, she said she found it tasteful, and bought a bookmark and magnet to add to a commemorative shadow box.
Memorial Plaza, where the massive twin reflecting pools etched with the victims’ names are located, was closed to the public for most of the day so families could privately pay tribute. The museum will open to the public Thursday evening.
Other memorial events took place across the city and in the borough, including a morning dance performance around Lincoln Center Plaza’s central fountain, a feast in Little Italy and a candlelit vigil for veterans in Queens. Later this evening, beams of light will illuminate the New York City skyline where the twin towers once stood.
The 13th anniversary of the deadliest attack on American soil comes amid growing threats from militants in Iraq and Syria. On Wednesday night, Obama announced in a televised address that the US will target Isis militants in Syria, expanding the bombing campaign against the jihadist group.
The new plan will add 475 US soldiers to the more than 1,200 already in Iraq, less than three years after the president announced the withdrawal of all US combat forces and declared the war over.
Cory Palmer of Queens, New York, whose cousin George Llanes died on 9/11, said he fully supports the president’s plan.
“Kick the tires, light the fires … We’ve got to eradicate these people,” Palmer said. Palmer and his wife Vicky, both wearing shirts with a picture of Llanes on the front, were attending the anniversary ceremony for the first time.
Thirteen years ago, Palmer, an NBC News cameraman at the time, was working on the set of the Today Show when he saw a “bright orangeish-black explosion” on the studio’s roof camera.
He said the broadcast crew immediately went outside to see what had happened. The crew was on the ground when his mother called him.
“Usually I don’t answer my phone when I’m working, so I was yelling at her and she said: ‘Shut up. George is in the towers.’”
Palmer said he looked at the towers now ablaze and through the smoke tried to count to the floor where Llanes worked. He said everything after that was a blur.
He remembers searching several morgues for remnants of his cousin. In the end, the family recovered only Llanes’ left knee, and the wristwatch his father had given him.
Palmer said he avoided the ceremony in the past because he couldn’t stand to be near the spot where his cousin died. He said the pain still sears, but this year he was ready to hear his cousin’s name read aloud.
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