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On the 20th anniversary of the “911” incident, the United States held a commemoration ceremony to commemorate the victims who lost their lives in the deadliest terrorist attack in the United States. During the ceremony, the relatives of the victims read the names of the victims.
Many people held back tears at ceremonies held at the 9/11 disaster center or Ground Zero. The 9/11 disaster center is the location of the “Twin Towers” in New York that was destroyed in an attack by al-Qaeda militants.
Lisa Reina, who lost her husband, cried and said: “20 years seems to be eternal, but it still feels like it happened yesterday.”
People held a minute of silence at the exact time when each hijacked plane crashed.
George W Bush, then President of the United States, delivered a speech in Pennsylvania, where one of the planes crashed into farmland after passengers overpowered the hijacker.
He said: “The world is sounding massacres and sirens, and then it quiets down, and the lost sounds can no longer be heard. It is difficult to describe the complex feelings we have experienced.”
The official commemoration in New York began with a one-minute silence at 8:46 (12:46 GMT), the exact moment in 2001 when the first plane crashed into the North Building of the World Trade Center.
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The memorial service continued into the evening, with two lights illuminating the four-mile (6.4 kilometers) sky.
Throughout the morning, roses continued to be placed next to the monument to the 9/11 disaster center, with the names of 2977 victims engraved on it.
In the next few hours, there are five moments of silence: mourning the second plane crashing into the South Tower, the third plane crashing into the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., the fourth plane crashing in Pennsylvania, and finally every The time the tower collapsed.
The memorial service continued into the evening, with two lights illuminating the four-mile (6.4 kilometers) sky.
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“Until we meet again, my beloved”
The names of thousands of victims were announced during the ceremony, which took several hours to complete.
Mike Low was the first to speak. His daughter was the flight attendant on the first plane that crashed into the World Trade Center. He thanked those who helped his family through “the darkest days of our lives.”
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The two women who met at the memorial ceremony discovered that their lost relatives knew each other.
Luo recalled the “gray and black world” in New York after the attack, and hoped that people would remember 9/11, “(It) is not a number or a date, but the face of an ordinary person.”
When Lisa Reina’s husband Joseph was killed, Reina was almost eight months pregnant.
She resisted tears and said: “Our son is exactly like you…Please continue to bless us and your family. Until we meet again, my beloved.”
After the attack, a generation was born. Some people took to the stage to share their thoughts during the event. A young girl told her late uncle: “I have never seen you, but I really miss you”.
Tribute to past and current U.S. presidents
The current U.S. President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden joined former Presidents Clinton and Obama, as well as former First Lady Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama at the commemoration in New York.
Image source,EPA
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Former US President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush prayed during the 9/11 commemoration in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Biden traveled to all three attack locations on Saturday: New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. In a video released on the eve of the 20th anniversary, he paid tribute to the victims.
He said: “No matter how long time passes, these commemorations will make people recall everything painfully, just like you just got the news a few seconds ago.”
US Vice President Harris delivered a speech following George W. Bush in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
She said: “For our children, we must challenge ourselves, look back and remember the past…and because of this, we must also look forward.”
It is believed that the hijacker who crashed into Shanksville Airport intended to attack the Capitol in Washington, DC, but the passengers and crew fought back. Biden said at the flower offering ceremony that they showed “true heroism.”
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The FBI released a newly declassified document investigating the connection between a Saudi citizen in the United States and the two “911” attackers.
The relatives of the victims of the “911” incident have long urged the release of these documents, saying that Saudi officials had known the situation in advance but had not tried to prevent the attack.
However, the document did not provide any evidence that the Saudi government was involved in the “911” incident.
On Saturday morning, former President Trump issued a video statement praising First responders, adding that it was a “sad moment, our war against those who have caused such harm to our country. Ended last week”, he was referring to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Trump did not attend the ceremony in New York, but he did visit a Manhattan police station near Trump Tower. Later on Saturday, he will comment on a boxing match in Florida for his eldest son Donald Jr.
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Other ceremonies include a vigil at the memorial wall of the New York Fire Department. It was a 56-foot-high copper wall commemorating the 343 firefighters who died on the day of the attack.
A total of 441 on-site emergency personnel were killed, which is the largest number of on-site emergency personnel losses in the history of the United States.
A dawn ceremony was held at the Pentagon on the outskirts of Washington.
Two players played the famous Christian hymn “Amazing Grace”, and a group of military officers solemnly stared at the Pentagon, which was bathed in blue light.
There is now a memorial church where American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the U.S. National Defense Building.
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