By: Larry McShane
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) - Two by two they stepped forward
at ground zero Thursday, the sons and daughters,
nieces and nephews, grandsons and granddaughters
of the Sept. 11 victims, mournfully reciting the 2,792
names of the World Trade Center dead.
"My mother and my hero," 13-year-old Brian Terzian
said after reading the name of his mother,
Stephanie McKenna. "We love you."
For a second straight year, the nation paused on a
bright September morning to recall the day when
hijacked jetliners slammed into the World Trade Center,
the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, killing more
than 3,000 people in the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history.
In New York, 200 children led the mourning, showing
extraordinary poise as they read the enormous list of
victims for 2 1/2 hours. Church bells tolled at the moment
hijacked Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, Pa.
A moment of silence was observed at the Pentagon for
the 184 victims there. And President Bush stood in
silence on the White House lawn.
"We remember the heroic deeds," Bush said. "We
remember the compassion, the decency of our fellow
citizens on that terrible day. We pray for the husbands
and wives, the moms and dads, and the sons and
daughters and loved ones."
The ceremonies came as the federal government warned
of possible al-Qaida attacks against Americans overseas
in connection with the anniversary. An Osama bin Laden
videotape emerged a day earlier, but U.S. officials sought
to downplay its relevance.
The relatives at ground zero appeared in various sad
permutations: Police Sgt. Michael Curtin was represented
by his three daughters, Jennifer, 17, Erica, 15, and Heather,
13. Kristen Canillas, 12, stood alongside 8-year-old
Christopher Cardinali; both had lost a grandparent.
"I love you and I miss you," Kristen said after reciting
the name of her grandfather, Anthony Luparello.
The children - the youngest was 7 - offered poignant
messages to their lost loves ones, their emotions laid
bare before a crowd that held aloft pictures of the victims,
dabbed tears from their eyes, and laid flowers in temporary
reflecting pools representing the towers.
The two years since the attack seemed to disappear
as speakers surrendered to their emotions.
"My daddy, Gerard Rod Coppola," said Angela Coppola,
20, her voice cracking. "Your light still shines."
Brannon Burke, 13, and her 10-year-old sister Kyleen
wore matching blue Engine Co. 21 sweatshirts with buttons
bearing the face of fire Capt. William Burke Jr.
their beloved Uncle Billy, a second-generation firefighter.
"It's heartbreaking and it's heartwarming when you hear
them say, 'My father, my mother, my aunt,'" said Betsy Parks
of Bayonne, N.J., whose brother Robert was killed.
"What's amazing is the strength and resilience."
Some family members used their hands to scoop up dirt
from the site as a keepsake, slipping it into bags and empty
water bottles. For many, it may provide the only link to their
lost relatives; authorities estimate the remains of as many
as 1,000 victims may never be identified.
The crowd of thousands observed a moment of silence
at 8:46 a.m., the time the first plane slammed into the north tower.
At sunset, two light beams pointing skyward were to
be switched on, evoking the image of the twin towers.
The remembrance extended far beyond lower Manhattan.
Firefighters in Chicago joined in the moment of silence,
while bells tolled in Milwaukee.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld presided over a
ceremony at the Pentagon and attended a wreath-laying at
nearby Arlington National Cemetery. Solicitor General Ted Olson,
whose wife, Barbara, died in the attack, told Justice Department
employees that an unrelenting fight against terrorism is the best
way to honor the memory of those who died.
"Their suffering and deaths must fuel our dedication to stamp
out this cancer," Olson said.
In rural Pennsylvania, church bells began tolling solemnly
shortly after 10 a.m. to mark the moment Flight 93 crashed.
The plane was believed to be headed to the nation's capital;
it went down as the passengers fought back against the hijackers.
"I feel incredibly proud for what my nephew did and those
brave souls and what a difference they made," said
Candyce Hoglan, whose nephew Mark Bingham was among
the passengers. "They prevented those monsters from continuing
on with their plan."
For a second straight year, family and friends of the 658
Cantor Fitzgerald employees killed in the trade center attack
gathered in Central Park for a memorial service.
The group met beneath a white tent festooned with an American flag.
Some families of the 700 New Jersey victims in the trade center
attended ceremonies in their home state, including the unveiling
of black marble monuments for the 37 residents of Middletown, N.J.,
killed by the terrorists.
"It's not easy today," said Rose Marie D'Amato, whose sister was
working on the 94th floor of the north tower. "I felt like I wanted to
be here, and I wanted to be in New York. We never recovered
any body remains."
In Manhattan, the footprint of the trade center's north tower
was outlined by a 4-foot fence draped with banners bearing
drawings and messages painted by children of the victims.
"I remember riding on daddy's shoulders," read the message
from 4-year-old Maggie Murphy, written between a picture of
flowers and the two towers.
Family members of victims walked down a ramp into the pit of
the site. Some knelt to touch the trade center's bedrock;
others hugged or wept.
Joan Molinaro, the mother of late firefighter Carl Molinaro,
spoke for all the parents who had lost their children.
"I feel your hand leave mine," Molinaro said, reading from a
poem she had written. "I feel that warm gentle kiss and wake
to the tears on my cheek.
"My baby boy is gone."
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