Nation Remembers with Memorial Services

Sept. 10, 2006 — -- It has been a stirring annual ritual since the 9/11 attacks: Families return to the bedrock of Ground Zero to honor those they lost. Moments of silence are observed at the exact times each tower was hit and the name of every person who died that day -- nearly 3,000 -- is read.

But after Monday, that tradition will never happen exactly this way again -- because Ground Zero is not just hallowed ground; it's also a massive construction site.

John Cahill, who oversees the reconstruction for New York State, believes that this will be the last year that this type of ceremony will be held at Ground Zero.

"It will be the last year because of what's happening down here with construction on site," Cahill said. "This will in fact be the last time the family will be able to walk down the ramp and go through the ceremony."

For family members like Charles Wolf, who lost his wife Katherine in the attacks, the annual public outpouring of sympathy is appreciated, but the intense focus the anniversary brings takes its toll.

"If someone asks me how I'm doing this week, I say, 'Pretty rough,' because it's all being put back on us again," Wolf said. "It's like if your wife died in a car crash and someone kept on showing you the video over and over again."

New York didn't suffer alone on Sept. 11. There will be other memorial services to mark the national tragedy.

A public ceremony will be held in Shanksville, Pa., where United 93 crashed after passengers stormed the cockpit.

Private services will be held at the Pentagon, where 125 people lost their lives.

Throughout the country, people will attend ceremonies big and small, as communities remember the events in their own way.

At Ground Zero, where a permanent memorial is set to open in 2009, the Manhattan night sky is once again painted with twin towers of light, reminders of what, and who, will never be forgotten.