Ceremonies in New York, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa., remember the more than 3,000 victims
By Jon Schuppe | KNBC-TV Los Angeles
| Tuesday, Sep 11, 2012 | Updated 8:30 AM PDT
Eleven years after nearly 3,000 people died in the 9/11 attacks, anniversary commemorations are underway, but in a more modest fashion that reflects both the passage of time and the nation's continued need to pause, reflect and nurse lingering wounds.In New York, ceremonies began at the National September 11 Memorial with a pipe and drum band leading a procession to the stage and a chorus of young people singing the national anthem. As in previous years, there were moments of silence at the times when planes hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pa., and when the towers collapsed.
Victims' families are reading the names of those who died.
Absent this year are comments from any elected officials. Organizers made that decision this year, ostensibly to remove politics from the event.
The ceremony is being held in the shadow of One World Trade Center, formerly known as the Freedom Tower, which will open in 2014 at 104 stories tall. Also under construction nearby are office buildings at Three World Trade Center and Four World Trade Center and a new transportation hub.
In Washington, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama gathered on the White House lawn for a moment of silence. Later, at the Pentagon Memorial, the president said America remains stronger because of the attacks.
"As painful as this day is and always will be, it leaves us with a lesson, that no single event can ever destroy who we are, no act of terrorism can change what we stand for," Obama said, adding, "that's the commitment that we reaffirm today. That's why, when the history books are rewritten, the legacy of 9/11 will be not hate or division but a safe world, and people united more than ever before."
He acknowledged the families of victims, still grieving.
"No matter how many years pass, no matter how many times we come together on this hallowed ground, know this: that you will never be alone, that your loved ones will never be forgotten."
Obama headed to Arlington National Cemetery, where he and the First Lady walked among graves marking recent war dead, the Associated Press reported. They stopped at a headstone that honors 10 members of the military and Drug Enforcement Administration who were killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan in 2009, according to NBC News.
The president planned to visit Walter Reed National Military Medical Center later in the day to visit wounded service members and their families.
Scaled-down services at the Washington National Memorial replaced the larger commemorations of years past. Around downtown Washington, meanwhile, hundreds of volunteers are expected to take part in a "day of service and remembrance."
In Shanksville, Vice President Joe Biden and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar visited the Flight 93 National Memorial, where the last hijacked plan crashed after the terrorists were overcome by passengers. Services included a moment of silence and the reading of the victims' names.
Biden acknowledged families' sorrow, but also hailed the passengers' embodiment of heroism: "individual acts of heroism by ordinary people in moments that could have been contemplated."
He added: "Like all the families, we wish we weren't here. We wish we didn't have to be here. It's a bittersweet moment for the entire nation, particularly for those family members gathered here today."
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta visited the western Pennsylvania site Monday, renewing the government's pledge to "remain forever vigilant against threats to our homeland and that nobody, nobody, attacks the United States of America and gets away with it." He cited the killing of Osama bin Laden and the continued targeting of other al Qaida leaders.
The 11th anniversary brought renewed focus on delayed construction of memorials in New York and Shanksville.
In New York, construction of a $1 billion museum stalled for weeks as public officials fought over how to finance it. Late on Monday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that he, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey had reached an agreement to restart work.
In Shanksville, officials say they need another $5 million to complete a learning center, visitors center and a Tower of Voices to honor the 40 victims who perished there. Salazar vowed that the project would be completed.
"We are getting close, we will get it done," he said.
The 11th anniversary also arrives amid lingering concerns about the health of emergency workers who breathed in toxic fumes and dust at the attack sites.
Some estimates put the number of illness-related deaths at over 1,000. Tens of thousands more are being treated for various ailments. New York City firefighters are among those suffering the worst illnesses; the Fire Department continues to add names to its roster of 9/11 dead. Other workers have died of cancer in recent weeks.
And the debate over how to distribute $2.7 billion in federal victim compensation funds continues. The list of cancers covered in the funding law gets longer; 14 new types were added on Monday.
Source: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/national-international/On-11th-Anniversary-of-911-More-Modest-Commemorations-169234376.html?_osource=Newsletter-Daily--
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