TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Moment of silence marks 14th anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks
The Tribute in Light rises above the New York skyline and One World Trade Center, left, Friday, in a view from Bayonne, N
Change Size
The Tribute in Light rises above the New York skyline and One World Trade Center, left, Friday, in a view from Bayonne, N.J. (AP/Mark Lennihan) (AP/Mark Lennihan)
T
span class="inline inline-center">The Tribute in Light rises above the New York skyline and One World Trade Center, left, Friday, in a view from Bayonne, N.J. (AP/Mark Lennihan)
Victims' relatives began marking the 14th anniversary of Sept. 11 in a subdued gathering Friday at ground zero, with a moment of silence and somber reading of names.
Hundreds of victims' relatives ' fewer than thronged the ceremonies in their early years ' gathered, carrying photos emblazoned with the names of their lost loved ones as they remembered the day when hijacked planes hit the World Trade Center's twin towers, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
"We come every year. The crowds get smaller, but we want to be here. As long as I'm breathing, I'll be here," said Tom Acquaviva, 81, who lost his son, Paul Acquaviva, a systems analyst who died in the trade center's north tower.
For Nereida Valle, who lost her daughter, Nereida De Jesus, "It's the same as if it was yesterday. I feel her every day."
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama stepped out of the White House at 8:46 a.m. ' when the first plane hit the north tower ' to observe a moment of silence. Later Friday, President Obama was scheduled to observe the anniversary with a visit to Fort Meade, Maryland, in recognition of the military's work to protect the country.
The Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville in western Pennsylvania was marking the completion of its visitor center, which opened to the public Thursday. At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Ash Carter and other officials were joining in remembrances for victims' relatives and Pentagon employees.
After years of private commemorations at ground zero, the anniversary now also has become an occasion for public reflection on the site of the terror attacks.
An estimated 20,000 people flocked to the memorial plaza on the evening of Sept. 11 last year, the first year the public was able to visit on the anniversary. The plaza was to open three hours earlier after the anniversary ceremony.
"When we did open it up, it was just like life coming in," National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum President Joe Daniels said this week. While the memorial will still be reserved for victims' relatives and other invitees during the morning ceremony, afterward, "the general public that wants to come and pay their respects on this most sacred ground should be let in as soon as possible." (k)
