Americans Hold Somber Observances of September 11 Attacks

A decade after Islamic terrorists hijacked four passenger planes and turned them into weapons to claim nearly 3,000 lives, people in the United States on Sunday somberly marked the September 11 anniversary with memorials at the scenes of the attacks. 

The names of the nearly 3,000 victims at the World Trade Center speak volumes. The terrorist attacks in New York 10 years ago touched people of all backgrounds, races and ages.

"And my father, Sebastian Gorki, who I never met because I was in my mom's belly.  I love you, father.  I love you for loving the idea of having me.  You gave me the gift of life, and I wish you could be here to enjoy it with me," said Nicholas Gorki.

Bells tolled to mark the moments when hijacked planes struck the twin towers, and when those towers collapsed.    

Among the crowd at the National September 11 Memorial, President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle; former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura, and New York City's mayor in 2001, Rudolph Giuliani. "God bless every soul that we lost. God bless the family members who have to endure that loss, and God guide us to our reunion in heaven, and God bless the United States of America," he said.