President Obama participates in a wreath laying ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, May 5.
Under sunny skies, multiple construction cranes, and the unfinished bulk of the first tower to rise at Ground Zero, Obama laid a wreath at the emerging 9/11 memorial in a solemn ceremony. He placed the flowers in front of a tree that survived the attack and then turned to hug Payton Hall, 14, who was standing with her friend, Madison Robertson, 14.Both girls, from Rumson, N.J., lost their dads on 9/11 and had written letters to the president - and to Justin Bieber - several months ago.
"I just wanted to share my story,'' Payton said.
"He just said how proud of us he is,'' Madison said.
Payton also said she was stunned when the White House called. "I was so shocked," she said. "I did not think he would write back.''
Crowds with flags and cameras lined Church Street on the eastern edge of the 16-acre construction site.
The wreath laying site is between two reflecting pools that mark the footprints of the destroyed towers. The tree was found growing on the site after the collapse and is called the Survivor Tree. It was taken away from the site, nursed back to health and returned this year.
After the wreath laying, Obama met with about 60 relatives of the nearly 3,000 people who died during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that led to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Earlier Obama told a Manhattan fire fighting crew that lost 15 members on 9/11 that the death of bin Laden sends a strong message to both the nation and the world.
"When we say we will never forget, we mean what we say," Obama said during a stop at the fire station .
The president also visited a Manhattan police station to speak with more of the first responders, telling officers, "I am here basically to shake your hand and say how proud I am of all of you."
The weekend raid on bin Laden in Pakistan "sent a signal that we have never forgotten the extraordinary sacrifices that were made on 9/11," Obama said. "We did what we said we were going to do."
Obama's stop at the "Pride of Midtown Firehouse" in Midtown at 48th Street and Eighth Avenue was greeted to applause from a nearby crowd. Obama greeted each member of the company and then stopped to examine a plaque bearing the names of 15 fire fighters who gave their lives on 9/11.
"This is a symbolic site of the extraordinary sacrifice that was made on that terrible day almost 10 years ago," Obama told company members.
The president then went in to lunch with crew now assigned to Engine Company 54, Ladder 4, Battalion 9. The president joked that he also visited the firehouse because "I hear the food was pretty good."
One of the family members watching the wreath laying was Christopher Cannizzaro, 10, of Staten Island, whose father Brian was a firefighter. He said Obama gave him a fist bump and he gave the president a prayer card for his dad. "It was just a very nice experience," he said.
His mother, Jackie Cannizzaro-Hawkins, who remarried, said she told the president "Thank you. Thank you for seeing it through." Obama's visit to the WTC site "means the world to me. It was appropriate. He never forgot."
White House spokesman Jay Carney called the event a "cathartic moment for the American people."
Security was tight as crowds started to gather in New York in anticipation of Obama's visit.
Jim Riches, a retired deputy chief with the city fire department and father of Jimmy Riches, a firefighter who was killed in the collapse of the North Tower, was among those scheduled to meet with Obama. He recalled that at a meeting in 2009, Obama told the 9/11 families that he was determined to get bin Laden.
"He did a great job and he deserves credit for it. He had the conviction to do it,'' Riches said Wednesday evening.
"It'll be a pleasure just to shake his hand,'' said Bill Doyle, whose son Joey was killed in the twin towers.
Doyle was flying to New York from his home in Florida on Thursday morning to attend the meeting with Obama. "It was remarkable, the decision (to attack bin Laden's hide-out), and it was gutsy by President Obama,'' he said.
"I'd love to meet that Navy SEAL that put a bullet in that guy's head,'' Doyle said.
Susan Dahill, communications director for Voices of September 11, a family support and advocacy group, said that Mary and Frank Fetchet, the group's founders, would be among those at the meeting. They planned to take printed messages to Obama that family members who were not invited posted on the group's Facebook page.
The couple's 24-year-old son Bradley was killed on 9/11.
The message from Alexandra Luckett, who lost her brother in the collapse of the North Tower, was heartfelt: "Please thank President Obama from everyone in Ted Luckett's family for finally bringing us some justice!'' she wrote on Facebook. "I hope this brings a little peace to this country and that the war will soon come to an end. I love the Navy Seals! Great job. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!''
Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked jets and flew two of them into the World Trade Center's twin towers. Both buildings collapsed, trapping thousands inside and also claiming the lives of firefighters and others who had rushed to help them. A third plane slammed into the Pentagon. Officials have speculated that a fourth plane had been heading for the U.S. Capitol or perhaps even the White House when it crashed in Pennsylvania.
A few days later, President George W. Bush stood amid the rubble and spoke through a bullhorn. When one worker yelled, "I can't hear you," the president responded: "I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people — and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!"
All these years later, Obama said this is no time for gloating. "We don't need to spike the football," he said as he told CBS on Wednesday that he would keep bin Laden's death photos sealed.
Obama invited Bush to join him Thursday, but the former president declined.
"The ceremony will provide some closure to a horrific event," said Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Firefighters, who was invited by the White House to attend Obama's Ground Zero event.
Contributing: Martha T. Moore in New York; David Jackson in Washington, D.C.; Carolyn Pesce in McLean, Va.; Associated Press
For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.We've updated the Conversation Guidelines. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation on how to use the "Report Abuse" button. Read more.This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
No comments:
Post a Comment