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The World Remembers 9/11
Sunday, 11 September 2005, 15:03 GMT 16:03 UK

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13435233,00.html

British police officers have joined millions of Americans to commemorate the
fourth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
They formed an honour guard for victims' families at a service near New York's
World Trade Centre site to remember the 67 Britons who perished.

US president George Bush drew parallels between the suicide hijackings and the
devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, praising the resolve of the American people.
He said that once again, four years later, the US was confronting another disaster
but that once again, it would recover and rebuild.

"The despair and tragedy of (September 11, 2001) were overcome by displays of
selflessness, courage and compassion," he said in a radio address to the nation.
"And in the days and weeks that followed, America answered history's call to bring
justice to our enemies and to ensure the survival and success of liberty. And that
mission continues today."

The British victims have been represented by 67 British officers at Old Slip park in
downtown Manhattan.

Bells tolled at the main ceremony at Ground Zero, which began just before at 8.46am
local time (1.46pm BST) - when the first tower was hit.
A minute's silence was held before the siblings of those killed started to read out the
names of the 2,749 victims.

Ceremonies are also being held at the Pentagon for the 184 people who died in the
attack there, and in the field in Pennsylvania where a fourth airliner carrying 44
people crashed after passengers staged a
rebellion against the hijackers.

The sombre ceremonies will pause four times - marking when each plane hit the
towers and when each tower fell.

At sunset, the Tribute in Light - twin skyward aimed spotlights - will return for one
night, rising from ground zero into the night in memory of those lost.

[A permanent memorial garden to those who lost their lives in the United States on September 11, 2001
has been built by the British government in Grosvenor Square Garden, London, which is bordered on
its west side by the U.S. Embassy. The memorial's official opening was on September 11, 2003.

White roses have a special significance for the U.K. families of those who died on September 11.
The white Bianca Rose formed part of HM The Queen's bouquet at the Westminster Abbey service,
and each of the families laid one white rose outside the Abbey, in an Act of Remembrance for
their loved ones.

At an anniversary service at St. Paul's Cathedral today, over 3000 white rose petals (one for each victim)
cascaded from the Whispering Gallery to the Altar below.

:-(

 

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Families remember Sept. 11 attacks at memorial

Sisters, brothers read loved ones' names at World Trade Center site

Gary Hershorn / Reuters
Family members place flowers in a pool of water in the footprint of the north tower of the former World Trade Center during ceremonies marking the fourth anniversary Sept. 11 attacks.

Updated: 11:05 a.m. ET Sept. 11, 2005

America grieved the victims of Sept. 11 on Sunday as the brothers and sisters of the dead gathered at ground zero and recited the names of those killed in the fiery, catastrophic attack.

The roll of the lost began with Gordon M. Aamoth Jr., an investment bank employee. Then, one after another, the names echoed across the site where the World Trade Center towers collapsed four years ago in a nightmarish cloud of dust and debris.

Three hundred twenty pairs of siblings were reading the names of the dead as hundreds of relatives, friends and colleagues watched in pained silence, some holding aloft portraits of their loved ones.

Relatives bowed their heads and wiped away tears as speakers uttered brief, personal messages of remembrance to the brothers and sisters they lost.
"You're still our hero, please keep watching over us," Elizabeth Ahearn said to her brother, fire lieutenant Brian Ahearn.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg opened the ceremony with words of condolence for the families devastated by the London subway attacks, and the thousands uprooted and grieving in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

"Today, as we recite the names of those we lost, our hearts turn as well toward London, our sister city, remembering those she has just lost as well," Bloomberg said. "And to Americans suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, our deepest sympathies go out to you this day."
The trade center site fell silent at 8:46 a.m., the time at which a hijacked jetliner crashed into the north tower and at 9:03 a.m., the moment a second plane struck the south tower. Moments of silence also were planned for 9:59 a.m. and 10:29 a.m., the precise times when each tower collapsed.

Among those reciting the names of the dead were Cynthia, John, Jane and Neil Olson - who lost their 31-year-old firefighter brother in the attack, Jeffrey James Olson.

"We feel that our family died that day," said their mother, Carol Olson. "He's always missing - on every birthday and every holiday."

Gov. George E. Pataki, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were to offer commemorative readings at the ceremony.

Other memorials planned on Sunday included a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey service for the 84 employees it lost on Sept. 11. Firefighters planned to roll out their trucks and other equipment in front of their firehouses to observe the moment of silence. The Fire Department lost 343 firefighters in the attack. In Washington, President Bush marked the anniversary with his wife on the South Lawn.

As in past years, some victims' relatives will be allowed to lay flowers at the towers' footprints. At night, two blue light beams inspired by the twin towers will be projected upward. The "Tribute in Light" will fade away at dawn on Monday.

© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

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Flight 93 Heroes Mourned in Pennsylvania By DAN NEPHIN, Associated Press Writer


AP Photo: Taylor Prokosch of Delmont, Pa., visits the temporary memorial to flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa.,...

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. - Volunteers on Sunday slowly read the names of each of the 40 passengers and crew aboard hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 as peals from two bells marked the fourth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Calvin Wilson, whose brother-in-law, co-pilot LeRoy Homer Jr., was killed, thanked the community for embracing victims' families.

"This is always tough, but I'll do it every year," said Wilson, speaking through tears as he addressed the crowd of 1,000 people, which included U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, Gov. Ed Rendell and former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.

United Flight 93 was en route from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco. The official 9/11 Commission report said the hijackers crashed the plane as passengers tried to take control of the cockpit. Officials believe the hijackers had targeted either the White House or the U.S. Capitol.

Ridge praised those who died, saying their actions saved others.

"The passengers and crew are an emblem of America's great glory: freedom and patriotism demonstrated at its highest regard," Ridge said. "Here upon this field of honor, lives were saved and heroes were made."

The Flight 93 Advisory Commission on Wednesday announced the winner of a design competition for a memorial at the 2,000-acre site.

The "Crescent of Embrace" memorial, created by a team of designers led by Paul Murdoch Architects of Los Angeles, will feature a chapel with 40 metallic wind chimes symbolizing each of the victims.

The design still must be approved by the director of the National Park Service and the secretary of the Interior. Officials are hoping to raise about $30 million for the memorial. The state of Pennsylvania has already donated more than $10 million.