The country’s Tributes were also paid in Madrid and Bali — both targeted by bombers from the Islamist al Qaeda network in the past — and in cities across Europe.
The country marked the four-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks today in familiar ways -the readings of long lists of the victims, the black bands worn across shined badges, the framed portraits of loved ones – all while facing its latest tragedy, the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina.
It was a day of grief remembered against
A backdrop of new loss. It was all but impossible to isolate
one event from the other, in memory and the one that came
before it. From a ceremony at ground list to data zero to a worship service in Washington, speakers paused
to mention the hurricane’s victims, while rescue workers slogging through New Orleans observed
moments of silence for their fallen colleagues now four years gone.
A few blocks from where hijackers slammed jetliners into the two towers of the World Trade.
Center, a rudimentary collection jar
A cardboard box with a slit cut into the top – on the
countertop of a deli asked for donations; they were not intended for Lower Manhattan, but for
the Hurricane Katrina survivors, and a sign promised that “Fancy Food will match every dollar you give.” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, in talk about in more detail what will be achieved his short address at ground zero, alluded to the deadly storm,
as well as the July 11 terrorist bombings in London. “Today, as we recite the names of those
we lost, our hearts turn as well toward London, our sister city, remembering those she has
just lost as well. And to Americans suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, our
deepest sympathies go out to you this day.”
New York Gov. George Pataki, New Jersey Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey, Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice and former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani also made remarks
at the ceremony, which lasted more than four hours under a bright, sunny sky.
In Washington D.C
where 189 people were killed when American Airlines Flight 77 struck
the Pentagon, President Bush and Laura Bush attended a morning service at St. Johns Episcopal
Church at Lafayette Square., along with Vice review business President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne.
The Rev. Dr. Luis Leon, quoting Ernest Hemingway’s “A Farewell to Arms” in his sermon,
spoke of becoming strong again in broken places, namely New York and New Orleans.
Later the Bushes and the Cheneys held their hands over their hearts as they observed a
moment of silence on the South Lawn.