NEW YORK — The thousands killed on Sept. 11 will behonored where they died, and across the nation on the secondanniversary of the terrorist attacks Thursday, with cities fallingsilent, names read aloud, wreaths laid and bells tolling for thedead.
Two years to the minute after hijackers crashed American Flight11 into the World Trade Center's north tower, victims' relativesand dignitaries will pause for a moment of silence at Ground Zero.In Washington, President Bush will observe the 8:46 a.m. moment onthe South Lawn of the White House.
At the Trade Center, on a stage near where the North Tower oncestood, 200 children will take turns reading the 2,792 names ofpeople lost in the attack.
''I thought it would be a good way to honor my dad, and to honorthe other people" who died on Sept. 11, said 11-year-old MadilynnMorris, who will recite 14 names, ending with her father, SethAllan Morris.
The reading will pause at three other moments -- the crash ofUnited Flight 175 into the south tower, the skyscraper's collapsean hour later, and the collapse of the north tower about 30 minutesafter that.
At the Pentagon, officials and families will mark with silencethe moment another hijacked jet slammed into the Defense Departmentheadquarters. The 9:37 a.m. crash killed 125 people on the groundand 59 on the plane.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will attend a wreath-laying atArlington National Cemetery in the morning, followed by a flagpresentation at the Pentagon.
About 30 minutes after the Pentagon commemoration, bells willtoll in rural communities in southeastern Pennsylvania to mark thetime that the fourth hijacked plane plunged into a field there,killing all 40 passengers and crew.
Nationwide, Americans will mark the day with reminders of life,death and peace.
Twisted pieces of steel hauled from the trade center ruins andshipped to other states for permanent memorials will serve asreminders of the disaster at remembrances from North Dakota toFlorida. In New Mexico, for example, people will gather at a churchwhere two steel beams from the trade center now form part of thebell tower.
White doves will be released in Toledo, Ohio, after a recitationof victims' names.
Scores of companies, large and small, are encouraging employeesto spend the day doing good deeds -- raising money, giving blood,and donating food and clothing at events in several cities.
Some hope the tradition will continue for years to come. OneDay's Pay, a nonprofit organization, is seeking to establish Sept.11 as an annual day of volunteer service.
From Delaware to California, fire departments plannedprocessions and prayers to honor rescue workers who died in theassault. Motorcycle riders will raise money in Tampa, Fla., for thefamilies of police officers, firefighters and U.S. SpecialOperations forces who have died in the war on terror.
''It helps bring people together and it helps us feel united,''said Elaine Diaz, a spokeswoman for the fund-raiser.
During the reading at Ground Zero in New York, families willdescend a ramp into the seven-story pit that was the trade centerbasement, and place flowers on the bedrock.
The Trade Center program -- similar to last year's three-hourmemorial -- will include readings by family members, former MayorRudolph Giuliani, his successor, Michael Bloomberg, and thegovernors of New York and New Jersey. Following last year'spractice, speeches will be limited.
A children's chorus will sing several songs, concluding theceremony with ''America the Beautiful.'' As the sun sets, two beamspointing skyward will be switched on, invoking the image of thetwin towers.
When the children read the victims' names at Ground Zero,Madilynn Morris' mother hopes Americans are watching and payingattention to their young, solemn faces. Madilynn's 35-year-oldfather was among the 658 employees of the bond firm CantorFitzgerald who were killed in the attack.
''Maybe people will think, 'That could have been my kid standingup there,' and we'll continue the fight against terrorism so thatanother child doesn't have to lose a parent,'' Lynn Morrissaid.
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