Ground Zero Turns to Kids on Anniversary

Two years after the prodigious horror and grief of Sept. 11, the small voices of children are at the center of its remembrance, charged with reading the names of loved ones killed in the attack and joining in song at ground zero.

Across the nation, the tolling of bells, the laying of wreaths and, in many places, moments with no words at all were planned for the second anniversary of the terrorist assault that killed more than 3,000 people.

In lower Manhattan, at the site where the World Trade Center once stood, 200 children whose relatives were among the 2,792 who died there were assigned the solemn, careful task of reading the names of the victims in a morning ceremony.

“I know I’m very proud of my children,” said Lynn Morris, whose husband, Seth Allan Morris, died Sept. 11, 2001, and whose two children, 11-year-old Madilynn and 9-year-old Kyle, were to read names. “It’s amazing the strength that they have developed over the years.”

A chorus of children was also to sing “America the Beautiful,” The Star-Spangled Banner and a song called “The Prayer.”

In New York, some remembrances of Sept. 11 started a day early. A silent vigil was held Wednesday night at St. Paul’s Chapel.

The chapel, once in the shadow of the trade center, survived the neighboring complex’s destruction and was temporarily converted into an all-purpose relief center for rescue workers.

“It’s important to remember what happened,” said Amy Sultan, 50, who walked from her home in lower Manhattan to the vigil, which continued overnight.

And at sunrise Thursday, about two hours before the ground zero ceremony, some dignitaries were holding an ecumenical service blocks from the trade center site.

The ground zero ceremony, lasting about 3 1/2 hours, was to fall silent at the four moments when the terror peaked two years ago: the time of impact of each plane that flew into the trade center, and the time of each tower’s collapse.

In Washington, President Bush planned to observe 8:46 a.m., the moment when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the trade center’s north tower to begin the timed attacks, on the South Lawn of the White House.

Memorials at other Sept. 11 sites were keyed on each place’s moment of attack. A ceremony at the Pentagon was to include a moment of silence at 9:37 a.m., when the impact of a jetliner killed 184 people.

And in southwest Pennsylvania, rural hamlets were to toll bells to mark the time when the fourth hijacked plane plunged into a field there, killing the 40 passengers and crew who were later hailed as heroes for trying to stop more catastrophe.

Elsewhere in the nation, reminders of life, death and peace were planned.

In Toledo, Ohio, white doves were to be released after the reading of victims’ names. In Massachusetts and Hawaii, bells were to peal to remember the dead.

Twisted steel taken from the ruins and shipped to other states for memorials was to be at the center of ceremonies from North Dakota to Florida to a New Mexico church that uses two trade center beams as part of its bell tower.

And in Tampa, Fla., motorcycle riders were to raise money for the families of police, firefighters and U.S. Special Operations troops who have died in the war on terrorism.

“It helps bring people together, and it helps us feel united,” spokeswoman Elaine Diaz said.

The ground zero commemoration, similar to last year’s, was to feature readings by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, New York Gov. George Pataki and New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey.

During the recitation of names, families of attack victims were to descend a ramp into the seven-story pit that was the trade center basement and place flowers on the bedrock.

At sunset, two light beams pointing skyward were to be switched on, evoking the image of the twin towers in a reprise of a popular monthlong memorial unveiled in March 2002.

But the centerpiece of the ground zero remembrance was the children. Some of the 200 reading names spent the weeks leading to the anniversary practicing the pronunciations on their section of the list.

Lynn Morris looked up articles so that Madilynn and Kyle could match faces to the names. Madilynn was reading 14 names, finishing with that of her father, who was 35 and worked at Cantor Fitzgerald in the trade center.

“I thought it would be a good way to honor my dad,” Madilynn said, “and to honor the other people.”