World Pauses to Remember Terror Attacks

— -- Somber ceremonies in Washington, at Ground Zero in New York, and around the country and world marked exactly three months since the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

‘We Will Remember’

W A S H I N G T O N — Precisely three months after the first jetliner slammed into the World Trade Center, the American national anthem played today at the White House, across the country and throughout the globe as President Bush vowed to "right this huge wrong."

At 8:46 a.m. ET, a drum roll echoed in the East Room, a solemn backdrop for "The Star Spangled Banner."

Bush said America does not need monuments and memorials to grieve the deaths of more than 3,000 people in suicide hijackings over New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. "For those of us who lived through these events, the only marker we'll ever need is the tick of a clock on the 46th minute on the 8th hour of the 11th day. We'll remember where we were and how we felt. We'll remember the dead and what we owe them. We'll remember what we lost and what we found."

"Every death extinguished a world," he said.

Solicitor General Ted Olson, whose wife, Barbara, died in the hijacked plane that crashed into the Pentagon, spoke at a Justice Department ceremony.

"We will never forget our loved ones who died or who were wounded on Sept. 11," Olson said. "We will fight this evil for as long and as patiently as it takes. We will prevail. We will comfort and care for those who have suffered. We will not forget."

— The Associated Press

Pausing at Ground Zero…

N E W Y O R K — In New York City, firefighters and construction workers stopped work and shut down their heavy machinery to observe a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. at ground zero.

The program began with Broadway performer William Michael singing "Let There Be Peace on Earth."

As a light drizzle fell, prayers were offered by Christian, Muslim and Jewish clergy. "They took down those structures, but they will not take away the spirit," said Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, a Fire Department chaplain.

"We pray for all the families — the husbands, the wives, the children, the mothers," said John Hiemstra, director of the Council of Churches of NYC. "The geographical, cultural and religious walls that may have divided us have been bridged."

About 150 construction workers, police officers, firefighters gathered for the service, held on the makeshift stage erected at the trade center site. Bagpipers played "Amazing Grace" as the service concluded under gray skies — a sharp contrast to the bright sunny morning of Sept. 11.

At the Department of Transportation in Washington several hundred employees gathered in the courtyard for a small ceremony in memory of the victims.

"The cowardly terrorist attacks require all of us to work harder than ever before," Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta told the group.

After Coast Guard Captain Leroy Gilbert delivered a prayer the audience stood in silence until the Coast Guard band played the national anthem.

— The Associated Press

The Nation Remembers

M A S S A C H U S E T T S — At Logan Airport in Boston, United Airlines employees gathered in front of an American flag, held hands and sang the national anthem. The two hijacked planes that crashed into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 had taken off from Logan.

C O N N E C T I C U T — Striking workers at jet-engine maker Pratt & Whitney stopped their picketing in East Hartford to observe a moment of silence. Strikers formed two lines, took off their hats and bowed their heads.

"It's to honor those people, they lost a hell of a lot more than we're losing," said Ron Wilson, a pipe fitter from Manchester, Conn.

O R E G O N — In Portland, firefighters, police officers and members of the public gathered in a light rain before dawn to hear a bagpiper play "Amazing Grace," observe a moment of silence, then sing the "The Star-Spangled Banner."

"We're here to honor the innocent victims of those attacks, and the brave men and women who tried to save them," Mayor Vera Katz said.

N E W H A M P S H I R E — Gov. Jeanne Shaheen and National Guard Col. Gary Cyr called for a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., then led a singing of the national anthem in the Statehouse Hall of Flags, surrounded by wreathes hanging from pillars.

"I don't know about all of you, after Sept. 11, it gives me additional reason to count my blessings and all of our blessings and appreciate family and friends," Shaheen told the crowd.

R H O D E I S L A N D — Fifth-grade students from Rhodes Elementary School in Warwick joined Gov. Lincoln Almond for a ceremony at the Statehouse.

At 8:46 a.m., a boy and girl from the class rang a replica of the Liberty Bell three times to commemorate the attacks. The class then led a group of legislators and other dignitaries singing the national anthem.

The head of the Rhode Island National Guard, Maj. Gen. Reginald Centracchio, asked the students to think of three positive things they could do for themselves, their friends, and their country.

"Just maybe say 'Hi' to someone you never have before," he said. "Think you can do that?"

The students replied in unison: "Yes, sir!"

N E W M E X I C O — At the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, about five-dozen students, advisers and campus police officers gathered for a moment of silence and candle-lighting ceremony.

A light snowfall extinguished candles that students had lighted in small plastic cups, so they moved inside and the candles were relighted.

Grant Nichols, 21, who organized the ceremony, said he had a summer job in Washington this year.

"It [Sept. 11] touched my life," he said. "I'm glad we had the opportunity to remember."

F L O R I D A — In Tallahassee, the president's brother, Gov. JebBush, led a ceremony on the steps of Florida's historic Old Capitol, which had a large flag covering the entrance.

"We remember the firefighters and law enforcement officers that were rushing up the World Trade tower stairs instead of down; we remember the dedicated public servants in the Pentagon that lost their lives," Bush said.

"And we remember ordinary people that were on a plane thinking they were heading west and instead crashed in Pennsylvania because they said 'Let's roll' and brought a plane down that easily could have landed at the Capitol or the White House. These are true American heroes."

P E N N S Y L V A N I A — Relatives of victims of the attacks helped raise the flag at Independence Hall in a cold, light rain.

"It's nice of Pennsylvania to acknowledge the wound," said Gil Ortale, 44 whose brother, Peter K. Ortale, 37, was killed at the World Trade Center.

The widow of the co-pilot whose plane went down near Pittsburgh, Melodie Homer, of Marlton, N.J., said she was glad people were beginning to realize that her husband, LeRoy Homer, and other crewmembers "weren't just sitting ducks."

"Everybody on that plane had some part in foiling that attack," Homer said.

N O R T H C A R O L I N A — A small crowd of veterans gathered at the Statehouse in Raleigh under drizzly, foggy skies to observe a moment of silence and urge support for military forces in Afghanistan.

"This is a united America and people came to the realization that we are vulnerable to people who don't like our freedoms," said American Legion member Jerry Tart of Benson.

W I S C O N S I N — At the state Capitol in Madison, the national anthem was broadcast thoughout the building, though no formal ceremony took place.

Judy Dahler, who works for the state Department of Workforce Development, stood silently on the second floor with her coat over her arm as the anthem played.

"I felt it was the right thing to do," she said. "As time goes by, we tend to forget things, and this is something we should never forget."

… And Around the World

T O K Y O, Dec. 11 — More than 70 countries that lost citizens in the attacks answered a call from President Bush to organize memorials and playtheir national anthems in tribute to the victims today.

In Australia, diplomats gathered at the residence of U.S. Ambassador Tom Schieffer and mourned the deaths by planting a symbol of life: an oak sapling descended from a tree Eleanor Roosevelt planted at the American Embassy in 1943. A plaque at the base said: "September 11, 2001, we will remember them."

"This morning's ceremony should be a small reminder to all of us that we continue to focus our minds, that we don't forget those horrific images," said acting Australian Foreign Minister Mark Vaile.

The Vatican was to mark the three months with a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Edmund Szoka, an American. Among those expected toattend was the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Jim Nicholson.

In Tokyo, senior Japanese government officials joined U.S. Embassy staff at Ambassador Howard Baker's residence to listen to aU.S. Air Force choir sing the American and Japanese national anthems.

"I, myself, and the people of Japan are together with President George W. Bush and the people of the United States in that we shallnever forget the Sept. 11 tragedy," Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said in a statement.

While expressions of sympathy with the terrorism victims were universal, there were still questions today about the U.S.-ledattacks meant to avenge the attacks.

"I wish the United States will stop the war now that they have clearly won against Afghanistan," said Yoon Sun-jeong, a 30-year-old broadcasting company employee in South Korea.

For many, Dec. 11 was a day to pause and take account of the changes in the world since the attacks, with the reactions ranging from the concrete to the philosophical. Japanese executive Nobuko Hagiwara lamented a canceled trip to Canada, while retired tea ceremony master Hiroshi Suzuki expressed solidarity with the United States' sorrow.

"Gloom has fallen upon all of our souls," Suzuki said.

— The Associated Press