*EPF110 09/09/2002
In New York, Washington and Across Nation, Americans Remember 9-11
(Congress holds special session in New York City to mark event) (2080)

By Ralph Dannheisser
Washington File Congressional Affairs Correspondent

The direct impact of what will always be known simply as "September 11th" was limited to New York City, the Washington, D.C. area, and a farm field in the Pennsylvania countryside.

But the broader result of the assault last year that took more than 3,000 lives in leveling the World Trade Center towers and crumbling part of the Pentagon was to join all Americans in shock, in grief -- and then in determination and solidarity -- as they reacted to an unprecedented terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

The same situation recurs as the nation prepares to observe the first anniversary of the day etched in America's -- and the world's -- collective memory.

Once again the focus will be on events in New York and Washington, but observances planned by cities and towns across the country, as well as nationwide organizations and specially created groups, will bring reality to the Pledge of Allegiance assertion of America as "one nation��indivisible."

In the words of Mayor Keno Hawker of Mesa, Arizona, "There is a real need for people everywhere to feel involved no matter where you are, no matter how far away. The pain is still there."

CONGRESS KEYNOTES NEW YORK COMMEMORATION

Commemorations in New York got off to an early and dramatic start September 6, as hundreds of U.S. senators and representatives gathered for the first official meeting of Congress in the city in more than 200 years, presided over by Vice President Dick Cheney.

They met at Federal Hall -- just a few blocks from where the Trade Center's twin towers had stood -- to express the nation's unity in the face of terrorism, and the determination that such an attack will not be permitted to recur.

The occasion was rife with historical significance: New York was the original capital of the United States, and the First Congress met on the very site where Federal Hall now stands. It was there that the Bill of Rights was written, and there that George Washington took the oath of office as the nation's first president on April 30, 1789. (The capital was moved to Philadelphia in 1790, then to Washington, D.C.)

A joint resolution passed by Congress earlier this year had authorized the extraordinary meeting to be held in "remembrance of the victims and the heroes of September 11, 2001" and in recognition of "the courage and spirit of the city of New York."

Literally hundreds of other commemorative events will be held in and around the New York area.

The day of tributes is to begin with bagpipe and drum processions originating in each of the city's five boroughs and converging on the World Trade Center site. Their arrival will signal the start of ceremonies that will include a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. -- the time when the first of two airliners struck the World Trade Center -- and a tolling of bells at religious and academic institutions at 10:29 a.m., when the second tower collapsed.

Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will begin a public reading of the names of the 2,823 people from 90 countries who died at the site, Governor George Patacki will read President Abraham Lincoln's historic Gettysburg Address, and New Jersey Governor James McGreevey will read excerpts from the Declaration of Independence. Family members of the victims are to leave roses at the twin towers site.

And President Bush will attend commemorative activities in New York -- as well as those at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

As one of many organizations sponsoring events, a group called "Sail for America" -- a consortium of yacht clubs, sailing organizations and business and government entities -- has called on "all patriotic American sailors to bring their boats to New York Harbor" on Saturday, September 14. Achieving the goal of having "the greatest gathering of sailboats ever in the history of the harbor" would serve as a memorial to those who died in the attacks, symbolize the rebirth of the city of New York, and be "a tribute to the soaring spirit of America," the sponsors said.

WASHINGTON PLANS FOR SEPTEMBER 11

Central to observances in the Washington area will be a one-hour Pentagon ceremony on the morning of September 11 at the so-called Phoenix Project site -- the precise area where a hijacked jetliner crashed into the Defense Department headquarters last year.

President Bush, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, and General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are to speak at that ceremony, addressing family members and colleagues of those who died when American Airlines Flight 77 struck the building at 9:37 a.m. that bright September morning. The ceremony will be closed to the public, but televised.

Reconstruction of the demolished portions of the mammoth building already is well along, ahead of the most optimistic schedules, and some Defense employees actually have returned to their desks in the affected area of the building's "E-ring," or outer corridor.

Elsewhere in Arlington County, Virginia, where the Pentagon is located, 9/11's rescue workers and leaders of emergency operations at the crash site last year will host two commemorative events:

The county's official flag will be unfurled at 9:37 a.m. in Gateway Park, at the foot of Key Bridge, close by the Pentagon. Local government officials, search and rescue workers and their families will offer brief remarks and remembrances, and a 3,500-pound bronze Bell of Remembrance will toll 184 times in memory of the lives lost at the Pentagon.

That evening, an outdoor concert featuring the Arlington Symphony Orchestra and a 150-member choral group will be held at the Netherlands Carillon near the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial -- a concert that will include stories collected from witnesses to the Pentagon attack and retold by an oral historian. A display of 184 lights will be lit one-by-one throughout the evening.

Across the river in Washington, a week of commemorative activities will include a candlelight vigil and commemoration at Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue, just down the street from the White House.

And the Library of Congress has developed a program of exhibits and public programs to mark the occasion. They include an outdoor concert by folksinger Tom Paxton and a concert of American band music, book-ending the anniversary on September 10 and September 12 respectively.

IN PENNSYLVANIA, THEY REMEMBER

In Somerset County, Pennsylvania, where a fourth hijacked airliner crashed on the way to an unknown target -- perhaps the White House or another Washington target -- residents are marking the occasion on a smaller, but equally heartfelt, scale.

The day's events in the town of Somerset will begin with a $5-a-person community prayer breakfast at a local steak and seafood restaurant. An hour-long memorial service, "A Time for Honor and Hope," is to be held at the crash site later in the morning. As part of the ceremony, a bell is to toll 44 times -- once for each victim at the site. President Bush is scheduled to visit Somerset but, rather than attending the public service, will meet privately with the families of United Airlines Flight 93 victims later in the day.

An evening memorial concert featuring traditional church hymns and patriotic songs, capping the day's schedule, was sold out well in advance.

ACROSS THE NATION, COMMUNITIES JOIN IN

Here is a potpourri of what will be happening in other venues across the country, in events focused broadly on memorializing the 9-11 victims, honoring police and fire fighters, and promoting patriotism and a sense of community:

In Chandler, Arizona, city employees will hear remarks by the mayor and city manager, as well as personal recollections of two Chandler firefighters who visited Ground Zero -- the World Trade Center site.

In Siloam Springs, Arkansas, firefighters will honor those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks by ringing the bell at fire headquarters in a 5-5-5-5 pattern, the cadence that signals the death of a firefighter, and members of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars will lower the American flag to half-mast.

Newark, California will hold memorial ceremonies concluding with a candlelight walk around a community park.

Pasadena, California's commemoration will begin with a silent procession of firefighters and police officers, accompanied by a bagpiper and a riderless horse.

The commemoration planned for Indianapolis, Indiana looks to the future, as local charities and human service organizations will set up booths on the city's central Monument Circle to sign up volunteers, take donations, and educate the public about volunteer opportunities.

City employees in Kirkwood, Missouri will wear symbolic red, white and blue commemorative ribbons, and will pause for a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m.

A "Celebrate Our Community" event in Portland, Oregon, will include a moment of impact ceremony (5:46 a.m. in Portland's West Coast time zone), a faith-based ceremony at 7:00 a.m., a noontime program -- including participation by Middle Eastern musicians -- and another musical program in the evening.

Columbus, Ohio will seek to use the occasion to bring together citizens of all of the city's diverse neighborhoods, religions and ethnic groups. "Through the past year, the families of Columbus and Ohio have grown closer together," says Mayor Michael Coleman. "On September 11, 2002, we will all come together again, not only to remember what has happened and who we know that has been touched, but also to join our hands in celebrating what we stand for as Americans, working together in a nation that ensures liberty for all people, regardless of our skin color, sex, church affiliation, class or history."

As part of "Patriot Day" ceremonies in Allentown, Pennsylvania, officials will dedicate a 35-foot-square mosaic depicting symbols of 9/11 created by high school students over the past several months.

In Binghamton, New York, Mayor Richard Bucci will host a remembrance ceremony at which he will display a piece of structural steel from the demolished North Tower of the World Trade Center that is to be the centerpiece of a permanent memorial.

Citizens of Dayton, Ohio have been asked to show up dressed in red, white and blue, and to fill the hillside adjoining a local memorial site.

Cheyenne, Wyoming will link commemorative services to a blood drive sponsored by the city and state.

A Tampa, Florida group called "The Bayshore Patriots" promise that the 4.5-mile sidewalk of the city's Bayshore Boulevard will be lined with 11,000 or more citizens, dressed in red, white and blue and waving American flags, in remembrance of the dead and to honor public safety personnel.

And as part of the commemoration in Anchorage, Alaska, free long-distance phone calls will be offered, at multiple sites, to people wishing to connect with distant loved ones.

PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS, BUSINESS, ALSO TAKE PART

Newspapers across the nation are laying elaborate plans for marking the September 11 anniversary as well. One of the most ambitious approaches has been announced by Newsday in Long Island, New York, which will publish, as part of its September 8 issue, a 76-page glossy tabloid devoted solely to victims. The Houston Chronicle will feature stories related to the terror attacks on the front pages of all seven sections, as well as the Sunday magazine, television listing insert, and entertainment tabloid. Starting September 1, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has been running five to 10 stories daily on the attacks.

And some business organizations announced their own commemorations. U.S. carrier Spirit Airlines, for example, announced that all seats on its September 11 flights would be free of charge as a thank you gesture to the public. "Had it not been for the support of our passengers and their willingness to get back in the air after the tragedy last year, then Spirit Airlines may not have survived," said Jacon Schorr, the airline's chief executive.

Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig has instructed all teams to pause in their night games on September 11, at 9:11 p.m. local time, for a moment of silence in remembrance of the terrorist attacks, followed by the screening of a videotape in memory of those who died. During afternoon games, the moment of silence will be observed during the seventh-inning stretch.

And other commemorative activities are even being organized, not surprisingly, by way of the Internet. One such e-mail approach is aimed at getting all drivers across the country to turn on their headlights September 11. "We hope to pay respect to the victims of that day (in 2001), show our nation's solidarity and show support for our men and women of the armed forces," say the anonymous circulators of that e-mail.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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