Nation remembers 9/11

Nation remembers 9/11

POSTED: 9:06 a.m. EDT, September 11, 2006

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NEW YORK (CNN) -- Five years after the worst terrorist attack on American soil, families of some of the nearly 3,000 victims gathered Monday at Ground Zero for a solemn ceremony.

Four moments of silence were planned -- two for the times that hijacked planes hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center, and two for the times that the burning towers collapsed into mountains of rubble, killing hundreds of people working there and first responders who were trying to rescue them.

The ceremony also will include the reading of the names of the 2,749 victims at the trade center site by about 200 of the victims' spouses, partners and significant others.

The first moment of silence came at 8:46 a.m. ET, the moment American Airlines Flight 11 slammed into the trade center's north tower; to be followed at 9:03 a.m., when United Airlines Flight 175 struck the south tower; 9:59 a.m., when the south tower fell; and then at 10:29 a.m., when the north tower collapsed.

President Bush planned tributes Monday at all three locations hit in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

The president and first lady Laura Bush had breakfast with first responder personnel at a New York firehouse and were scheduled to participate in the ceremony with them commemorating the fifth anniversary of 9/11.

On Sunday, the president and Mrs. Bush placed wreaths in pools of water where the World Trade Center towers stood before the airliners toppled them five years ago. (Watch families of three victims recall that day -- 4:43)

After Monday's events in New York, the president and first lady planned to attend a wreath-laying ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the rural community where hijacked United Flight 93 crashed into a field.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney are expected to attend a morning ceremony at the Pentagon, where another hijacked passenger plane struck that day in 2001. The president and Mrs. Bush will lay another wreath there after attending the Shanksville commemoration.

The president is scheduled to give a televised address to the nation from the Oval Office at 9 p.m. ET.

Thousands gathered across the country Sunday in tearful tributes, prayers and quiet reflection on the eve of the anniversary.

In addition to the president's visit to Ground Zero, memorials were held in Washington and Pennsylvania. (Watch Bush and the first lady honor those who died -- 1:59)

An estimated 2,973 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks.

The death toll from the twin towers include 87 passengers aboard Flight 11 and the 60 on Flight 175. Among the dead were 60 police officers and 343 firefighters who responded to the scene.

After the wreath-laying ceremony, the president and first lady attended a service at Trinity Church near Ground Zero.

"It's hard not to think about the people who lost their lives on September 11, 2001," Bush said after the service. "You know, you see the relatives of those who still grieve, and I just wish there was some way we could make them whole. So tomorrow's going to be a day of sadness for a lot of people."

But it's also a day for affirming the nation's fight against terrorists who would commit such acts against Americans and its allies, he said.

"It's also a day of remembrance, and I vowed that I'm never going to forget the lessons of that day," he said.

"And we spent time in there, looking at some of the horrific scenes inside this fantastic place of healing, and it just reminded me that there's still an enemy out there that would like to inflict the same kind of damage again. And so tomorrow's also a day of renewing resolve."

Earlier Sunday, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg attended the Fire Department's anniversary prayer service at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan to honor what he called "shining lights" in the city's "darkest day." (Watch the former fire chief remember the fallen -- 3:12)

"Let me promise you one thing: We will not forget," Bloomberg said. "We will not succumb to terrorism, and we will make sure we build a better city, a better country and a better world for freedom-loving peoples everywhere. May God bless you all, the memories of those we've lost and may God continue to bless New York City," he said.

In Washington, thousands of Americans participated Sunday evening in the Freedom Walk, now in its second year. They walked from the National Mall to the Pentagon's south parking lot, next to the crash site.

Afterward, the Pentagon beamed 184 lights into the sky, one for each of the people who died in the U.S. military headquarters when American Flight 77 crashed into it. The lights will remain lit until Tuesday. (Watch Pentagon visitors share their feelings -- 1:43)

People also rode their motorcycles Sunday in the third annual "Rattle the Runway" ride, cruising to the Pentagon from the National Air and Space Museum's building near Dulles International Airport.

Hundreds traveled to the makeshift memorial in Shanksville.

Cheney told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that the United States has "stayed actively and aggressively involved in the hunt for [al Qaeda leader Osama] bin Laden from the very beginning" despite media reports that the task force assigned to find him has been disbanded and the trail has gone cold.

"He continues to be a top priority today. That hasn't changed," Cheney said. "The president and I get periodic reports on our efforts in that regard. There's been no lessening of our interest or of our activity with that." (Watch why the White House says the nation is safer --1:22)

Now 49, the Saudi exile founded al Qaeda in 1988 as an association of Islamic militants who had battled the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

Bin Laden and his associates have released numerous videotapes since September 11, 2001, praising and encouraging attacks on Western interests and lamenting the loss of its leaders, many of whom have been killed or captured by U.S.-led troops.

On the eve of the anniversary, a lengthy video statement from bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, called on Muslims to step up their resistance to the United States and warned that "new events" are on the way. (Full story)

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