Nation remembers its loss

By Josh Getlin and Faye Fiore
Los Angeles Times

NEW YORK — America marked the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks yesterday with a poignant ceremony at Ground Zero, where 200 children who lost parents and other relatives read the names of the 2,792 people who died there.

Mourners comfort each other at the site of the World Trade Center in New York on the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, in which 2,792 perished. Associated Press

In Washington, President Bush led a moment of silence on the south lawn of the White House at 8:46 a.m., marking the instant the first hijacked plane hit the World Trade Center. Other ceremonies honored the 189 lost in the attack on the Pentagon, and the 44 on the airplane that crashed near Shanksville, Pa.

"We remember the lives lost," Bush said. "We remember the heroic deeds. We remember the compassion, the decency of our fellow citizens on that terrible day."

Elsewhere, cities from Boston to Seattle marked the occasion with solemn speeches, public vigils, memorial dedications and moments of quiet contemplation. Although this year's observances were generally less elaborate than the first anniversary, they did not want for emotion.

"I came here because I wanted to celebrate my sister's life, but it's hard, because the wound is still painful," said Michael Smith, a New York carpenter who came to Ground Zero with seven other family members to hear the name of his sister, Joann Tabeek, read over the loudspeaker system. "I'm trying to keep it together, but after this is over, I'm going to the cemetery, and when that's over I'm going to need a beer."

As he spoke, pairs of children marched to a podium several feet from the concrete pit at Ground Zero, each reading 15 names, including a parent or other relative. Some blew kisses to loved ones when they read the names. Others choked back tears.

"It wasn't great being up there, but I think it was good for me to do it," confessed a downcast Craig Flickinger. He and his twin 12-year-old brother Carl said "we love you, dad" after they read 15 names, then left the stage.

Many family members walked into the pit and left flowers in two reflecting pools representing the twin towers; some also took samples of dust and rock to remember the place where family members died.

Midway through the nearly three-hour ceremony, Ehtesham Raja consoled six members of his family, who had flown in from Pakistan to commemorate the death of his son, Aftab, a 27-year-old computer specialist who died in the north tower.

"I never thought in my wildest dreams we would be standing here on a day like this," said the distraught father, hugging his wife and children and gesturing at the crowds. "My son loved New York. He loved America. We thought he was safe here."

The reading of the names was interrupted only by the ringing of four bells marking the moments of each plane's impact and the collapse of the towers. On a day dominated by children's voices and survivors' grief, the handful of officials who spoke confined themselves to quoting great leaders or reading from appropriate poems.

New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who briefly introduced the ceremonies, read from "The Names" by former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins: "Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers. The bright-eyed daughter, the quick son. ... So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart."

Ongoing conflicts noted

Later in the evening, officials honored New York victims with the Twin Towers of Light, two massive beams of light symbolizing the fallen buildings, in a special ceremony at Battery Park City.

In Washington, the anniversary was marked with sermon, ceremony and prayer, even as an eight-foot fence went up around the towering Washington monument, an example of the fortification that has prevailed since the attacks. As they honored the dead, administration officials spoke of the nation's military conflicts.

At the patched and rebuilt Pentagon, uniformed officers paused to watch television broadcasts of a new videotape purported to be of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and his chief lieutenant. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told the Fox News Network it sounded as if the tape's editors "were stapling some old news and new news" together "in a pretty crude way." Even so, the tape altered the focus of the second anniversary from remembrance to renewed purpose, a senior defense official said.

As he laid a wreath at Arlington Cemetery, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recalled Bush's vow that the attackers would hear from the United States. Rumsfeld urged support for the administration's war on terrorism, saying, "They did hear from us, and the fight for freedom continues, because we know that if we do not fight the terrorists over there in Iraq, in Afghanistan and across the world, then we will have to face them here. ... "

Efforts praised

Across the river in the halls of Congress, Republicans also used the day to praise current anti-terrorist efforts in Iraq and around the world. Other lawmakers were heavy with gratitude for the passengers who were said to have brought down the fourth hijacked plane in Pennsylvania, which authorities feared was bound for the Capitol.

Bush and his wife, Laura, started the morning at St. John's Episcopal Church, across from the White House, where the congregation was asked to pray that God give wisdom and strength to all who govern the nation, "especially George, our president."

After the service, the Bushes observed a moment of silence on the White House lawn, where 2,000 people assembled, from aides in crisp suits to kitchen staff in white chef smocks. The president and his wife continued on to Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital for private visits with 30 wounded soldiers and their families, and Bush awarded 11 Purple Heart medals.

In one of the most moving Washington ceremonies, the children of Leckie Elementary School dedicated a garden to the memory of a sixth-grader, his teacher and two parents who were killed when American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon.

Eleven-year-old Bernard Curtis Brown II and his teacher, Hilda Taylor, were on their way to a marine sanctuary in California for an educational field trip sponsored by the National Geographic Society. Marsha Ratchford and Johnnie Doctor Jr. worked in the Pentagon, and also happened to be parents of children who attended Leckie.

"He wasn't afraid to fly. His thing was, 'Are we going first class?' " Sinita Brown said of her son, Bernard. His teacher had promised to take good care of him on the flight.

"I know she's holding him," Sinita Brown said.