Former President George W. Bush has paid silent tribute to Sept. 11 victims in a wreath-laying at the Pentagon.
Bush was joined by his wife, Laura, as he placed a wreath of white flowers by the 9/11 memorial stone embedded in the wall outside Corridor 4. That's near where hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building, killing 184 people.
Also at the brief ceremony were Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, former Pentagon chief Donald H. Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen.
Bush then headed to Shanksville, Pa., for the dedication of the United Flight 93 memorial. He also plans to join President Barack Obama in New York on Sunday, the 10th anniversary of the attacks.
More than 1,000 family members of people who perished at the Pentagon on this date 10 years ago filed slowly into the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial on Sunday.
A flag marks where terrorists flew a plane into the Pentagon as families and guests walk through the memorial to the victims on Sunday, the 10th anniversary of the attacks.
They sat quietly in rows of metal chairs, facing the metal benches — one for each of their loved ones — that make up the memorial next to the Pentagon. To their right a huge flag was draped over the Pentagon wall, marking the section where American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the heart of the nation's defense minutes after the attack on the World Trade Center in New York.
At 9:37 a.m., the same moment the plane struck the building, there was a moment of silence, followed by a haunting rendition of Amazing Grace by the Navy chorus.
The U.S. Army Band played solemnly as 184 service men and women from the Army, Navy and Marines laid wreaths at each of the memorial benches. Some in the crowd raised their cameras to capture the moment.
On a stage set up next to the military headquarters, Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declared that after the attacks, "America reached forth with the outstretched arm and clenched fist of an angry nation …to make sure a day like this never happens again."
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta surveyed the peaceful memorial and said, "At this very moment, at this very spot, it's difficult to believe that 10 years ago this was the scene of terrible devastation, smoke and fire. Although 10 years have passed, the wounds are still present. … You'll always carry the memory of that day with you."
The terrorist attacks were "aimed squarely at our values," he said. "They tried to weaken us. Instead, they made us stronger."
The strength of a democracy, he said, is the willingness of its citizens to make sacrifices for the good of others in times of crisis. "Many have sacrificed," he said, citing more than 6,000 who died and thousands more who were wounded in the ensuing wars. "And because of their sacrifice, we're a safer nation."
The men and women armed with machine guns posted along the approaches to the Pentagon, the highways closed for the event, the concrete barriers along the parking lots and security screenings — all made it clear this place has changed.
Douglas Wilson, assistant secretary of Defense for public affairs, remarked before the ceremony, "This Pentagon is both the same and different. … There's a mission, but the mission is more complicated in many ways. It's no longer black and white.
"People understand there's an ongoing nature to the conflict," he said. "There's a quiet determination."
He was working across the street from the White House 10 years ago and recalled seeing smoke rising from the Pentagon across the Potomac, and feeling "scared to death" that his friends had died.
Drake Marshall, 13, was at the ceremony to remember his mother.
He recalled that he was in the Pentagon day care center, building a castle with blocks, when a teacher said something about smoke in the building, grabbed him and carried him out. Drake's mother, Shelley, worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency in the building, but Drake remembers crying for his dad.
"I was looking over my teacher's shoulder as she was giving me a hug when I saw him running over," he said. "It was a scary time. … I didn't know if my parents were OK I didn't have any idea what was happening."
Vice President Biden's words about losing a loved one felt personal, Drake said, "because I lost my mom."
His father, Donn Marshall, 46, credits Drake and his sister Chandler, who was 21 months at the time, with saving his life.
"As a single parent, you have to find strength," he said. "Who knows what I would have done, what would have turned out if the kids hadn't been there."
They even helped him find his second wife, he said, by insisting on going back to the nice lady who sold them an Easter bunny, and the visits became daily.
Donn Marshall, who also worked in military intelligence, said he moved to West Virginia in part because Washington didn't feel safe. He doesn't like all the planes flying overhead, and he thinks another attack is "bound to happen again."
The intelligence community "can't be right 100%," he said, and the enemies "only have to be right once."
Mary Lou Moss, 43, of Saltiillo, Tex., wept thinking about the day 10 years ago when she lost her husband, Brian Moss, who was in the Navy. When she had a daughter four years later, she named her Sailor is his honor.
"Being near the crash site makes it really hard," Moss said.
Moss's son Connor, 15, wants to join the Navy SEALs, Moss said.
Her older daughter, Ashten, 17, said she plans to join the Navy, too. She might finally find closure, she said, "when I go fight."
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