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O.P. 4yrs Later - September 11th
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."
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.
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