Nation marks 7th anniversary of 9/11 attacks
At the Pentagon, the names of the 184 victims are read as a bell rings out for each. In New York, Mayor Bloomberg leads a remembrance.
WASHINGTON -- At 8:46 a.m., seven years to the moment after the first hijacked airplane crashed into the first tower at the World Trade Center in an act of terrorism that stunned the nation, there was silence.
At the White House, President Bush stood with Vice President Dick Cheney and their wives in solemn remembrance of the event that redefined his presidency and sent the U.S. troops into Afghanistan and Iraq.
As church bells pealed at New York's ground zero, a massive flag was unfurled while Mayor Michael Bloomberg recalled "a tragic memory" that unites Americans and citizens of 95 nations represented by the victims. Then he led the crowd in a moment of silence that actually came a minute early. A moment of silence also was observed at the New York Stock Exchange.
And at the Pentagon, the names of all 184 victims were read for the first time as a bell rang out for each and the first major 9/11 memorial was dedicated. Bush, his voice cracking, talked about how "there has not been another attack on our soil in 2,557 days" and how he hopes future generations of Americans with "no living memory" of 9/11 will conclude that "we did not tire, we did not falter and we did not fail."
Built with private funds, many from corporations and private donors, the Pentagon Memorial is a two-acre park featuring 184 cantilevered and lighted stainless steel benches inscribed with the names of the victims. The benches are organized according to the victims' ages -- from 3-year-old Dana Falkenberg to 71-year-old John Hamnicky. The benches commemorating the 59 passengers aboard American Airlines Flight 77 face in one direction, the 125 military and civilian personnel who perished inside the Pentagon in the other.
"Today as we dedicate this memorial, we also dedicate ourselves to never forget what happened here, and we make a solemn pledge to never again let this happen in America," said Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, before the reading of the names. "God bless the fallen, their families and all who sacrifice for freedom and liberty."
Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain suspended presidential campaigning to mark the anniversary. The two plan to appear together at ground zero in New York later today. They also pulled the plug on television advertising for the day and both will participate in a presidential forum on service at Columbia University this evening. Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden will meet with first responders in Parma, Ohio, at the American Legion Post. The Republicans' vice presidential pick, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, was home in Alaska preparing for her first major media interview with ABC's Charles Gibson.
