CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) -
September 11, 2012 looks quite a bit different from September 11, 2001. There's a feeling of change over the memorial ceremonies this year.
Eleven years have passed. Children who grew up in the shadow of 9/11 are now adults. Adults who lived through the terrorist attacks are now older…with memories forever imprinted in their minds of the day suicide hijackers hit New York and the Pentagon, and downed a plane in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed.
In New York City, the sun rose over the World Trade Center and commuters rushed to work. But everyone stopped to silently observe the moment the first hijacked jetliner crashed into the World Trade Center.
At the southwest corner of ground zero, a lineup of airport-style metal detectors was set up to clear visitors entering the ceremony. The detectors are several hundred feet from Engine 10 and Ladder 10, and the company's dozens of firefighters are preparing for the ceremony. Engine 10 lost five members in the September 11 attacks.
Circling the complex were police and fire department vehicles, ambulances and metal barriers protecting the site where victim's families will gather and grieve Tuesday.
The reading of nearly 3,000 victims' names in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania continued as usual this year. But many felt it was time to move forward after the emotional turning point of last year's 10th anniversary. For the first time in New York, only family members were to speak at the anniversary ceremony. Elected officials had spoken in past years. Tuesday's commemoration also follows a breakthrough Monday on a financial impasse that had halted progress on the Sept. 11 museum.
In Washington D.C., three bells tolled and a bugler played taps as the White House observed the 11th anniversary.
President Obama and First Lady Michelle attended a ceremony at the Pentagon, one of al-Qaida's four targets eleven years ago. Aided by a Marine honor guard, the President placed a white floral wreath on a metal stand above a concrete slab that read "Sept. 11, 2001 – 937 am". As the moment of silence started at 9:37 a.m., a bugler played taps. President Obama stood with his head bowed, and then placed his hand over his heart.
In his remarks at the Pentagon, President Obama recalled the day "when grief crashed over us like an awful wave". He went on to say "...no matter how many years pass, no matter how many times we come together on this hallowed ground, know this -- that you will never be alone. Your loved ones will never be forgotten. They will endure in the hearts of our nation, because through their sacrifice, they helped us make the America we are today -- an America that has emerged even stronger."
Tuesday afternoon, the President will visit wounded soldiers and their families at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Meanwhile, Vice-President Joe Biden delivered the remarks at the Flight 93 National Memorial Commemorative. Flight 93 was the four hijacked plane. It crashed in Shanksville.
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will speak to the National Guard in Reno, Nevada. In a written statement released earlier, he said the United States is united in its determination to stop terrorists and protect freedom "at home and across the world". Romney also said the United States will never forget those who died, or stop caring for their families. He expressed thanks to U.S. troops and warned those who would attack America that "we are united, one nation under God, in our determination to stop them."
September 11 is also a day free of political posturing. Both candidates removed their negative ads from television in honor of the eleven-year anniversary.
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