Shoutbox

United States honours victims of Sept. 11 attacks

CTV.ca News Staff

Across the United States, ceremonies are honouring the memories of the nearly 3,000 victims who died when terrorists launched a bloody attack on American soil on Sept. 11, 2001.

"Today, again, we are a city that meets in sadness. We come here to remember the names of those we lost four years ago," said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who opened the ceremony at Ground Zero, where the World World Trade Center once stood.

"The greatest honour we can do them, is to remember them, not just as they were in death, but as they were in life."

More than 600 brothers and sisters of the dead recited the names of their siblings, some adding personal messages.

"You're still our hero, please keep watching over us," Elizabeth Ahearn said to her brother, fire lieutenant Brian Ahearn.

In the crowd of hundreds gathered to grieve the victims, some wept silently while others held aloft photos of their loved ones.

Mourners across New York paused for a minute's silence at 8:46 a.m. ET when the first hijacked jetliner hit the World Trade Center's north tower on Sept. 11, 2001.

At that moment, New York firefighters on duty in flood-ravaged New Orleans gathered around a makeshift memorial for their fallen comrades.

Meanwhile in New York, the ceremony was interrupted three more times to mark the south tower attack, and the times each tower collapsed.

On Sunday night, two shafts of light representing the twin towers will be beamed into the night sky from lower Manhattan. The "Tribute in Light" will fade away at dawn on Monday.

In Washington on Sunday, U.S. President George Bush was joined on the White House lawn by Vice President Dick Cheney and their wives to remember the tragedy.

They observed a moment of silence followed by a military tribute, in a ceremony that has been repeated each year since the attacks.

Memorial services are healing for families of the victims, says Maureen Basnicki, a Canadian who lost her husband Ken four years ago.

"We are a special family facing death in a way that nobody else had to," she told CTV Newsnet, speaking from New York.

"There is a greater deal of circumstances, trauma attached, the publicity, and to come together with other people really, really helps."

Meanwhile in Canada, Prime Minister Paul Martin joined U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins in paying tribute to the victims of the attacks.

At a gathering of about 200 dignitaries at the American embassy, Martin said it's important for all civilized peoples to commemorate those who perished in the attacks four years ago.

"We remember our loss. We mourn with the United States, our friends," Martin said in an earlier statement.

"And we celebrate the resilience of the American spirit, which we have seen endures, and indeed grows stronger, in the face of their calamity and grief."

In Italy, Pope Benedict marked the anniversary of the tragedy by calling for a global renunciation of hatred.

"Today, 11 September, we remember the victims of terrorist violence throughout the world," Benedict said in English at the papal summer palace at Castel Gandolfo.

"May God inspire men and women of goodwill everywhere to renounce hatred and to build a world of justice, solidarity and peace."

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It's been 4 years since Sept. 11th and without trying to upset anyone I want to pay respect to those who died in this terrible disaster. May you Rest In Peace.

not wanting to sound rude, but...

every day people die for worse reasons than political nonsense or religion-discriminating crap. it's not because it's your (not aimed at anyone) big nation that we have to be sad every 11th of September, every year again and again.

they're dead, get over it. unless you lost relatives you shouldn't be whining about it and not about all those other people who die every day.



sorry if this post hurts someone, but it's my point of view and should certainely not be taken in an offensive way

quote:

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Originally posted by Millenium_edition
not wanting to sound rude, but...

every day people die for worse reasons than political nonsense or religion-discriminating crap. it's not because it's your (not aimed at anyone) big nation that we have to be sad every 11th of September, every year again and again.

they're dead, get over it. unless you lost relatives you shouldn't be whining about it and not about all those other people who die every day.



sorry if this post hurts someone, but it's my point of view and should certainely not be taken in an offensive way

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I do agree with you to a certain extent but daaamn, that was harshly worded!

Its like saying we have to have a minute silence everyday to all those people that have died on this day and the next day and the next day and so on...
By only remembering those that passed away on 9/11 its unfair that you dont remember those who died on 8/11 or 29/8, get my point?

No, they should not be forgotten, nor should the whole issue, but holding silences, putting X, 9/11, in front of nicks, making public speeches and w/e is not always needed.

And yeh, sorry if this is offensive...

quote:

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Originally posted by hmaster

quote:

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Originally posted by Millenium_edition
not wanting to sound rude, but...

every day people die for worse reasons than political nonsense or religion-discriminating crap. it's not because it's your (not aimed at anyone) big nation that we have to be sad every 11th of September, every year again and again.

they're dead, get over it. unless you lost relatives you shouldn't be whining about it and not about all those other people who die every day.



sorry if this post hurts someone, but it's my point of view and should certainely not be taken in an offensive way

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I do agree with you to a certain extent but daaamn, that was harshly worded!

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Yeah, I agree 100% with M_e, although it sounded kind of harsh.

Edited my previous post, maybe thats worded better, or is it just as bad :/?

Well we are all sorry for everyone !! all who died and all the left behind famillies !. but dont forget the causes that made it reach that point! even though this not the way things should be solved by!.. Humans were born with mind a brain!, so that they can deal with each others, and talk !.not only for murder!

Every year it gets less and less publicity, 9\11 is starting to become part of our history, and it has led to a lot of developments in recent years. If that attack didn't take place it would have shaped the early years of the 21st Century differently. But more people have died in conflicts over the years than in one terrorist attack that just made a lot of people hate terrorism a lot more.

The attacks shouldn't be remembered with the melodrama that a lot of people do, but more of a feeling of wishing terrorists would just learn that they are being pathetic and are taking peoples lives needlessly.

i dont have a problem with people mourning their dead like (like m_e seems to) but i do hate it that the people who died are always called the heros of 9/11 when they did absolutely nothing except die (oh wow that deserves a round of applause) of the firefighters are heros. mabye heros is something different in the US?

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Originally posted by mad_onion
i dont have a problem with people mourning their dead like (like m_e seems to) but i do hate it that the people who died are always called the heros of 9/11 when they did absolutely nothing except die (oh wow that deserves a round of applause) of the firefighters are heros. mabye heros is something different in the US?

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The firefighters, policemen, rescue people are all heroes because they were running in the towers when everybody else was running out... They tried to go in and save the people in there.

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Originally posted by Anubis
The attacks shouldn't be remembered with the melodrama that a lot of people do

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Agreed there... but the rest of the people saying a bunch of shit like... alot of people died that day, whoopee get over it...... I'm sure a bunch of you are from London..... And this isn't trying to be offending to anybody from there... but it's the same as the London Bombings... Next year I'm sure there'll be some sort of memorial service... and that didn't have nearly as much loss of life as 9/11...

On a final note... The amount of mourning is getting less and less every year. There's still publicity about it.... and there are still a few ceremonys... But it's really no different than Pearl Harbor, or any other historical event like that...