Voices of children express America's grief

The voices of children marked the profound horror and grief of September 11 today, joining in song at Ground Zero and reading the names of 2,792 loved ones who died there exactly two years ago.

Two hundred children and young adults, each of whom lost a relative in the most devastating terrorist assault in American history, approached the microphones in pairs and began reading the names.

Many included personal messages. Christina Marie Aceto, 12, said: “I love you, Daddy. I miss you a lot. Richard Anthony Aceto.”

Two bagpipers and a drummer opened the ceremony, marching onto the site of New York’s World Trade Centre with an American flag that once flew over its ruins. A children’s choir sang The Star-Spangled Banner.

“We come here to honour those that we lost, and to remember this day with sorrow,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Minutes later, the anniversary ceremony at Ground Zero paused for a moment of silence – the first of four commemorating the times when each jetliner crashed into a tower and when each skyscraper collapsed.

Across the nation, bells tolled, firefighters stood at attention, and in many places, moments with no words at all were held for the second anniversary of the terrorist assault that killed more than 3,000 people.

At the White House, President George Bush stood with his staff on the South Lawn and bowed his head in silence at 8:46 a.m. (1346 BST), the moment that the first terrorist-hijacked plane struck the World Trade Centre. He left the lawn without speaking.

Earlier, he described his thoughts as he left a morning church service. “We remember the lives lost,” Bush said. ”We remember the heroic deeds. We remember the compassion, the decency of our fellow citizens on that terrible day.

“We pray for the husbands and wives, the moms and dads and the sons and daughters and loved ones ... we pray for strength and wisdom.”

Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld presided over a ceremony at the Pentagon. Solicitor General Ted Olson, whose wife, Barbara, died in the attack, told Justice Department employees that an unrelenting fight against terrorism is the best way to honour the memory of those who perished.

“Their suffering and deaths must fuel our dedication to stamp out this cancer,” Olson said.

In rural Pennsylvania, church bells began tolling solemnly across Shanksville shortly after 10 a.m., marking the moment hijacked Flight 93 crashed in a nearby field as passenger tried to fight off their hijackers.

In New York, families began arriving at the World Trade Centre site well before the ceremony, many wearing ribbons of white or black, symbolising mourning, or yellow, for hope. Many carried flowers – daisies, petunias and roses to leave at the site during the ceremony.

The footprint of the trade centre’s north tower was outlined by a four foot fence draped with banners bearing drawings and messages painted by children of the victims.

One of them was a simple red heart, outlined in black, with the inscription: “To my Dad, Steve Chucknick. Your in my heart forever. Love always, your son Steven.”

Children whose relatives were among the victims began the solemn, careful task of reading the names of the victims in a morning ceremony. In breaks, Bloomberg and other dignitaries read poems and inspirational quotations.

“I know I’m very proud of my children,” said Lynn Morris, whose husband, Seth, died in the attacks, and whose two children, 11-year-old Madilynn and nine-year-old Kyle, were reading names. “It’s amazing the strength that they have developed over the years.”

At sunrise, about 200 people sat quietly at an ecumenical service at a small park not far from Ground Zero that included a violinist, readings of poems and songs by a children’s choir.

“I was hoping to get a couple minutes to face up to all the emotions of the day and to continue the process of trying to adjust,” said Nathaniel Hupert, a 37-year-old public health researcher.

Elsewhere in the nation, reminders of life, death and peace were set to commemorate the day.

At Boston’s Logan International Airport, where two of the hijacked planes took off, there was a moment of silence to remember the victims.

“Think not of the empty chair, but the people who filled those chairs,” said Jim Ogonowski, whose pilot brother, John, was killed when his hijacked plane hit the World Trade Centre.