NYC-WTC_000230754

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

The Faces of Sorrow Thousands gather for memorial at Ground Zero By Margaret Ramirez and Bobby Cuza STAFF WRITER "■ As Officer Daniel Rodriguez opened the service .with the national anthem, thousands held up framed ’ -r. i'lia., ., i I' >

; Amid the charred, smoldering remains of the photos of those who died on the two hijacked planes . World Trade Center, more than 9,000 gathered yes­ and the thousands of others who perished in the , Ji terday to weep and mourn on the ground where their Twin Towers. -r loved ones took their last breaths. . Cardinal Edward Egan, the archbishop of New -■'..A " I- They came from across the city and al! parts of the York, delivered the invocation, recalling the victims country {(it a somber service to remember those asi “strong'and dedicated citizens” who were “execu- O H , ■ killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Some arrived in buses from New Jersey, others flew in from Cali­ fornia, friends and families hurting and searching .tiv'es and office workers, managers and laborers.” ( “We are in mourning, Lord. We have hardly any ■ ' tears left to shed,” Egan said. ■■ i”' -g- H for a path to closure. . .Famed Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli then raised ■ ■JV 1^ Tor some, like Sutiiarine Thackurdeen, 42, of his , voice in a heartbreaking rendition of “Ave NJ ■ South Ozone Park, the memorial service helped his Maria.” 'a"- S O family make a connection with the sister they lost, . 35-year-old Goumatie. He said his mother, Rambus- . cia, felt spiritually comforted by the gathering. I • ® The service took place on a stage erected in the shadow of the blackened remains of 5 World Trade \ Center. In back, the remaining facade of Tower One -Ji'A. ' ., .... . “ ■< " > « g “She became emotional by the sight,” Thackur­ could be seen. .j o deen said. “She can’t see her daughter here, but her JThe chilled autumn breeze was laced with the o daughter can probably see her.” rScrid smell of smoke, a growing concern for the resi­ I Others, like Alfia Morello of Norwalk, Calif, who dents who have returned to their homes in lower o lost her father, said rather than brining the reality Manhattan. Some mourners at the service strapped ' - ‘'fj' ‘ of the tragedy into sharper focus, visiting the site surgical masks over their faces. Shards of glass from ; ' i. 'I'"-' . y ' , only left her more dazed than before. ■ blown-out windows crunched on the ground under ' 1 nh,-;?!-? ' OO[ "It’s horrible. It’s horrible. A lot of people said it’ll ♦.their feet; ‘ co’ , bring closure, it’ll bring more realism to it, and it's |j For only the second time since the attack, recovery i.not,” Morello said. “I worked here for four years with work at the site was interrupted yesterday. On Oct. my dad . . . and I don’t know even know where I am. 11 at 8:48 a.m., a moment of silence was observed to w V-2 I don’t know what I'm looking at. It’s not really help­ . mar^the one-month anniversary of the attac^. _ ing ___ _ ________ .. - --

■7-1? .-j:;;

NYC-WTC_000230754