Hundreds of family members and friends of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States today joined politicians, firefighters, first responders and ground zero workers to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the attacks in Lower Manhattan.
It was the first time since 2001 that it has rained on the anniversary and the scene was a sea of umbrellas.
Gray skies provided a grim backdrop to the commemoration ceremony. Some of the family members carried pictures of their loved ones perished.
For the first time, the city's memorial service is taking place away from the World Trade Center site, at nearby Zuccotti Park. But family members were allowed to go down into the pit to lay flowers in a pool at the bedrock.
The ceremony began at 8:40 a.m. (1240 GMT) with the sounds of drums and bagpipes, as an American flag saved from the site was carried on stage.
"The Star-Spangled Banner" was performed by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus before the first of four moments of silence was observed at 8:46 a.m. -- the moment the first plane struck the north tower.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has presided over each of the anniversary events, described Sept. 11, 2001 as "the day that tore across our history and our hearts."
He said "we come together again as New Yorkers and as Americans to share a loss that can't be measured."
"On that day, we felt isolated, but not for long, and not from each other. New Yorkers rushed to the site, not knowing which place was safe or if there was more danger ahead. They weren't sure of anything except that they had to be here," Bloomberg said.
The mayor quoted Herman Melville, a famous American novelist: "We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads," encouraging New Yorkers to carry on after the catastrophe.
Once again, three other moments of silence were observed at 9:03, 9:59 and 10:29 a.m. - the precise times that the second plane slammed into the south building and when the twin towers collapsed.
This year, 236 first responders to the attacks will deliver the reading of the names of the victims during the ceremony while music will play in the background.
The readers representing firefighters, police, construction workers, and medical workers, are reading the names of victims in alphabetical order.
The official death toll was increased by one, from 2,749 to 2, 750, this year after the city ruled a woman's death of lung disease was caused by exposure to toxic trade center dust.
The name of that woman, Felicia Dunn-Jones, will be read at the ceremony for the first time.
New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who took office in January, spoke at the 9/11 commemoration for the first time as governor.
"We stand on this terrible threshold remembering all that happened. We feel today as we felt then, that we belong to one another, not because we are inhabitants of the same city or same country but because we are all part of the same human story, part of one community of our fellow human beings," Spitzer said.
Unlike former anniversaries, this year's event has the 2008 presidential race and health of ground zero workers hovering over it.
Many victims' family members and firefighters said former mayor Rudy Giuliani should not speak this year because he is running for president.
Giuliani, who appeared at the ceremony each year, only spoke briefly.
He said last week that his appearance was not intended to be political. "I was there when it happened and I've been there every year since then. If I didn't, it would be extremely unusual. As a personal matter, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."
Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, seeking her own party's presidential nomination, also planned to attend ceremonies at ground zero on Tuesday.
Another problem is that many of the first responders have become sick, or died themselves, of respiratory problems and cancers they blame on exposure to World Trade Center dust.
On Monday, Mayor Bloomberg just announced the launch of a new 9/ 11 health website.
The website provides data on such subjects as monitoring and treatment options as well as studies on the attack's ongoing health impacts on residents, rescue workers and cleanup volunteers. It also gives viewers access to the WTC Health Registry, by which people exposed to the disaster can report on their long-term health.
Tuesday's commemoration ceremony at ground zero will last until 12:30 p.m. (1630 GMT). The "Tribute in Light" will again return at sundown, by when two beacons will shine for one night as a tribute to the memory of those who died.
Source: Xinhua
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