N.Y. marks 8th anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks, 1st under Obama

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NEW YORK, Sept. 11 Kyodo -
President Barack Obama observed a moment of silence as New York and the nation
marked the eighth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against
the United States on Friday.
It is the first anniversary to be observed under the administration of
President Obama, who took office in January.
Obama and first lady Michelle Obama held a moment of silence outside the White
House and said, ''Eight Septembers have come and gone. Nearly 3,000 days have
passed -- almost one for each of those taken from us. But no turning of the
seasons can diminish the pain and the loss of that day. No passage of time and
no dark skies can ever dull the meaning of this moment.''
The nation is ''united not only in our grief, but in our resolve to stand with
one another, to stand up for the country we love,'' the president also said,
expressing his resolve to keep fighting against terrorism.
In a plaza adjacent to Ground Zero in a rainy New York, the ceremony began with
a statewide moment of silence at 8:40 a.m. and was followed by another moment
of silence at 8:46 a.m. -- the exact time the first hijacked plane hit the
North Tower of the World Trade Center eight years ago.
The ceremony again paused at 9:03 a.m., 9:59 a.m. and 10:29 a.m. -- to mark the
striking of the second plane into the South Tower, the fall of the South Tower
and the fall of the North Tower, respectively, for three additional moments of
silence.
Churches throughout New York City rang bells as relatives of the 2,752 victims
entered the World Trade Center site to lay flowers in the area where the
National September 11 Memorial and Museum, due to open for the 10th
anniversary, are being constructed.
Under Obama's presidency, the federal government for the first time has
designated Sept. 11 as the National Day of Service and Remembrance.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised Obama's designation of Sept. 11
as the national day of service.
''Appropriately, the city of New York has taken up that call. From this day
forward we will guard the memories of those who died by rekindling the spirit
of service and help keep us strong,'' Bloomberg said.
In recognition of the theme, volunteers from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the
Bronx and Staten Island, representing the five New York boroughs, were paired
up with relatives of deceased victims to read their names aloud.
Vice President Joe Biden joined families who were laying flowers on the site
and told them, ''There's a special fraternity for those of us who've lost
spouses and children.'' Biden's daughter and first wife were killed in a 1972
car accident.
After the reading of the victims' names, ''Taps'' was performed by three
trumpeters representing the New York Police Department, the Fire Department of
New York and the Port Authority Police Department.
For the second year in a row, the commemoration was held at Zuccotti Park,
which is close to Ground Zero, as construction is under way. Steel beams and
scaffolding are up as progress is being made on the Freedom Tower and the
planned reflection pools, as well as the museum.
In addition to the Manhattan ceremony, attended by several thousand people, the
country was called on to remember all 2,976 lives. In addition to those lost in
New York, 184 were killed at the Pentagon and 40 in rural Pennsylvania.
At the Pentagon, President Obama placed a wreath at a ceremony dedicated to the
victims killed when an American Airlines jet hit the building's west wall.
''No words can ease the ache of your hearts,'' Obama told relatives and friends
of the victims.
In Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Colin Powell, the retired general and former
secretary of state in George W. Bush's administration, addressed a crowd to
remember the 40 passengers and crew killed when the hijacked United Airlines
plane they were aboard went down in a field there.
''We are here on this anniversary day to mark that moment. We are here to offer
our profound thanks to their spirits. We are here to give thanks and comfort to
their family members, who suffered this terrible loss,'' Powell said.
He also said, ''Americans understand the profound importance of our obligation
to remember the spirit and sacrifice of Flight 93. Over a million visitors have
traveled to these peaceful fields to pay homage. The purity of their pilgrimage
gives the site a special, annealing strength.''
The program concluded around noon and will be followed at night by the annual
''Tribute in Light.'' Two bright lights, marking the absence of the twin
towers, will shine from sundown and fade at dawn the next day.
==Kyodo