Remembrance ... Liam Pilarski, four, plays with a US flag among the benches that make up the newly-dedicated Pentagon Memorial / Reuters
Events in New York, Pennsylvania and at Pentagon
Obama, McCain join mourners at Ground Zero
Permanent memorial honours victims aged three to 71
WHITE House rivals John McCain and Barack Obama put political rivalries aside today to pay homage at Ground Zero as America marked the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
In a rare show of unity, the increasingly bitter contestants for the presidency walked with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg into the still unreconstructed site of the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Centre.
They stopped to talk to a fireman, builder and other representatives of those caught up in the terrifying aftermath of the assault in which hijacked airliners hit and demolished the Twin Towers.
The senators then each placed a rose in the memorial reflecting pool, already brimming with petals from ceremonies all morning, before shaking hands with a line of police officers.
A moment of silence earlier opened ceremonies at the side of the giant pit where the World Trade Center towers once stood, followed by the reading of almost 3000 victims` names.
Tearful remembrance
Mayor Bloomberg said September 11, 2001 - when al-Qaeda-hijacked airliners demolished the Twin Towers and crashed into the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania - was the day the US "broke``.
Choking on tears, victims` relatives read out names of the dead. A string quartet, alternating with a classical guitar and flute, played mournfully in the background.
Senator Obama called 9/11 the day "Americans across our great country came together to stand with the families of the victims`` and said: "Let us renew that spirit of service and that sense of common purpose.``
However, the Democratic candidate pointedly referred to Republican President George W. Bush`s failure to make good on a promise soon after 9/11 to apprehend al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
"Let us remember that the terrorists responsible for 9/11 are still at large, and must be brought to justice,`` he said.
Courage and sacrifice
Senator McCain earlier visited the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in rural Pennsylvania.
He paid tribute to those on board who assaulted their hijackers and crashed the plane before it could reach its target - speculated to have been the seat of the US Congress in Washington.
The Vietnam war veteran and former POW said: "I have witnessed great courage and sacrifice for America`s sake but none greater than the sacrifice of those good people who grasped the gravity of the moment, understood the threat, and decided to fight back at the cost of their lives.``
Ground Zero
At Ground Zero, survivors, who wore white ribbons pinned to their chests, often broke off to add brief tributes as they read the names of dead relatives.
One fought to control himself as he condemned the "cowardly men`` who killed his loved one.
A woman managed a smile as she called to her deceased husband Chuck, saying: "Until we meet again may God hold you in the palm of his hands.``
Pentagon memorial
At the Pentagon, thousands joined Mr Bush and US Defence Secretary Robert Gates to dedicate the first September 11 memorial.
A Marine Corps bugler played taps from the roof where firefighters had unfurled an American flag while the building burned after the attack.
Americans visiting the memorial, a simple plaza with cantilevered benches for each of the 184 victims at the Pentagon, "will learn that this generation of Americans met its duty``, Mr Bush said.
"We did not tire, we did not falter, and we did not fail.``
Never forgotten
The memorial is dotted with bench-like units cantilevered over an individual reflecting pool, each inscribed with the name of a person killed in the attack on the Pentagon.
The units representing the 59 people killed on American Airlines Flight 77 are inscribed so that a visitor will face the sky when reading the name of the person to whom it is dedicated.
Those representing the 125 people killed inside the Pentagon are positioned so that a visitor will see the name and the Pentagon in the same view.
The benches are laid out according to the ages of the victims, starting with the youngest, three-year-old Dana Falkanberg, and ending with the oldest, John Yamnicky, 71.
Ben of Shepparton you are totally out of order on this. Many innocent people (from many countries) lost their lives due an act of terrorism and we should never forget that as well as the loss of life suffered in Bali. MY thoughts go out to everyone who lost a loved one in both of those tragic events
Posted by: David of Brisbane of Brisbane 12:49pm today
Don't feel sorry for them, they did it themselves.
Posted by: Ben of Shepparton 9:25am today
And Osama is where? In seven years the Spanish PM is gone, Blair is Gone, Howard is gone and in 2 months Bush will be gone as well.
We welcome your comments on this story. Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Please provide your full name. We also require a working email address - not for publication, but for verification. The location field is optional.Read our publication guidelines.
Submit your feedback here:
Search for more stories on this topic on Newstext, our news archive service. Click here
