Eight years after the nation's worst terrorist attacks, President Obama honored those who died on that Sept. 11 with a call to service as he observed a moment of silence at the White House and attended a ceremony at the Pentagon.
A Washington rain came to a stop as the White House observance began at 8:46 a.m., the moment the first jetliner struck the World Trade Center in 2001. Some 200 staffers stood in silence around the Obamas, placing hands over hearts as a bugler played taps.
"Nearly 3,000 days have passed — almost one for each of those taken from us. But no turning of the seasons can diminish the pain and the loss of that day. No passage of time and no dark skies can ever dull the meaning of this moment," Obama said later at the Pentagon.
The president, who had signed an order declaring Sept. 11 a national day of service, asked Americans "to renew the true spirit of that day. Not the human capacity for evil, but the human capacity for good. Not the desire to destroy, but the impulse to save and to serve and to build."
The attacks brought the nation together in mourning as well as in "our resolve to stand up for the country we love," Obama said, adding that the U.S. "will never falter" in its pursuit of al-Qaida and its allies.
The president laid a wreath at the memorial at the Pentagon, where 184 people were killed, and he and Defense Secretary Robert Gates were to meet with victims' relatives later in the day.
Thousands attended ceremonies Friday at the Pentagon, in New York and at the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa., reading out the names of loved ones who perished.
Adding to the tension of the emotionally charged day, a U.S. Coast Guard training exercise in a restricted zone on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., triggered a false report on CNN that shots had been fired on a suspicious vessel. The erroneous report briefly put FBI agents on alert and grounded planes at Reagan National Airport.
In New York, Vice President Joseph Biden and Mayor Michael Bloomberg attended the memorial at the site of the World Trade Center attack.
Speaking during a pause in the reading of the names, Biden told the hundred of victims' relatives who had gathered that "there's a special fraternity for those of us who've lost spouses and children." Biden's daughter and first wife died in 1972 in an automobile accident.
He also joined family members who laid flowers in a reflecting pool on the site where the Twin Towers once stood in lower Manhattan.
Bloomberg said at the ceremony, "From this day forward, we will safeguard the memories of those who died by rekindling the spirit of service that lit our city with hope and helped keep us strong."
Former President George W. Bush had no public appearances planned Friday, and a spokesman said he would be working in his office during the morning. In a brief statement, Bush said he and his wife, Laura, were thinking of the victims and their families.
"We honor those who volunteer to keep us safe and extend the reach of freedom — including members of the armed forces, law enforcement officers, and intelligence and homeland security professionals," the statement read. "Their courage, service and sacrifice is a fitting tribute to all those who gave their lives on Sept. 11, 2001. On this day, let us renew our determination to prevent evil from returning to our shores."
From NPR staff and wire reports
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