America Remembers The 3,000 Victims Of 9/11 Attacks

Mija Quigley of Princeton Junction, New Jersey, embraces the name of her son Patrick Quigley who died on 9/11

Relatives of the September 11 victims gathered at ground zero in New York City today to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the attack that killed almost 3,000 people. 

The moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. Wednesday marked when the first plane hit the twin towers on a clear, sunny day in 2001. Then, families of the victims started reading aloud the names of those who died.

Along with the names of those who died when the hijacked jets crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were read out the names of those killed in the hijacked Flight 93 and the victims of the 1993 trade center bombing.

A second bell tolled at 9:03 a.m. to mark when the second plane hit the twin towers. Then the reading of the names resumed. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Gov. George Pataki attended, as well as Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Gov. Anthony Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

President Barack Obama marked the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks with a moment of silence on the South Lawn of the White House.

http://www.dailyguideghana.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/america2.jpg

Mija Quigley of Princeton Junction, New Jersey, embraces the name of her son Patrick Quigley who died on 9/11

Obama, along with first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and wife Jill Biden, walked out of the White House at 8:46 a.m., EDT, the moment the first plane hit the World Trade Center tower in New York a dozen years ago.

They bowed their heads to observe a moment of silence, which was followed by a bugler playing taps.

'It is an honor to be with you here again to remember the tragedy of 12 Septembers ago, to honor the greatness of all who responded and to stand with those who still grieve and to provide them some measure of comfort once more,' Obama said.

'Together we pause and we give humble thanks as families and as a nation.'

The president then attended a Sept. 11 observance at the Pentagon where he laid a wreath during a ceremony marking the 12th anniversary of the worst terror attack on the U.S.

While Obama made no direct mention of the crisis in Syria, he vowed to 'defend our nation' against the threats that endure, even though they may be different than the ones facing the country during the 2001 attacks.

Dailymail