President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stand during the playing of Taps during the September 11th Observance Ceremony at the Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Va., Sept. 11, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Today, President Obama and the First Lady marked the eleventh anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
They began the day at the White House, observing a moment of silence on the South Lawn just after 8:45 a.m., around the time the first plane hit the north tower of the World Trade Center. Afterward, they traveled to the Pentagon, where the President spoke at a memorial service in honor of those who died there, as well as in New York and Pennsylvania.
This anniversary allows us to renew our faith that even the darkest night gives way to a brighter dawn. Today, we can come here to the Pentagon, and touch these names and kneel beside a building where a single stone still bears the scars of that fire. We can visit the field of honor in Pennsylvania and remember the heroes who made it sacred. We can see water cascading into the footprints of the Twin Towers, and gaze up at a new tower rising above the New York skyline.
And even though we may never be able to fully lift the burden carried by those left behind, we know that somewhere, a son is growing up with his father’s eyes, and a daughter has her mother’s laugh — living reminders that those who died are with us still.
