Friends, families of those killed will gather for private ceremony ARLINGTON, Va. — Silence, followed by a day of speeches, music and remembering, will mark the moment when, ten years earlier, a massive gash was blasted into the west wall of the Pentagon by a hijacked jetliner, ending nearly 200 lives and changing others forever.
Friends and families of the victims will gather for a private ceremony at the Pentagon Memorial commemorating 9/11 which is scheduled to begin around 9:30 a.m., just minutes before American Airlines Flight 77 out of Washington Dulles International Airport crashed into that side of the Pentagon exactly 10 years prior. The proceedings are expected to fall silent at 9:37 a.m., the time the plane crashed into the building.
Vice President Joe Biden is expected to speak at the event along with Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta in a ceremony that will follow a similar protocol to the one that marked the memorial’s opening three years ago — the last time the families of the 184 victims who were either on Flight 77 or inside the Pentagon, were together.
Pentagon Memorial Fund President Jim Laychak, whose brother Dave worked at the Pentagon and perished in the Sept. 11, 2001 attack, said every anniversary is difficult. But a decade after the deadliest attack on U.S. soil, something else has become apparent.
“This was kind of like our Pearl Harbor — we’ll always remember,” he said. “But kids who are 10 years old today, they have no connection to it.”
Laychak said he hoped the next step for the memorial would be to educate visitors more about the attacks.
Two of the city’s professional sports teams are contributing to that by holding fundraisers for the memorial at Sunday’s scheduled games.
Ten years ago, pro sports canceled games in the days after 9/11 as the nation mourned. But this Sunday, the country’s two most popular sports will carry on.
The Washington Nationals — who were the Montreal Expos in 2001 — will host an on-field remembrance and moment of silence before their 1:35 p.m. game against the Houston Astros. A portion of the ticket proceeds will go toward the memorial fund.
The Washington Redskins, whose home opener against the Arizona Cardinals was canceled following the Sept. 11 attack, are also hosting a fundraiser for the memorial. The team is also providing tickets and transportation to the 9/11 Pentagon families for the scheduled 4:15 p.m. season opener against the New York Giants.
That evening, a Concert of Hope featuring poetry readings and music at the Kennedy Center caps off a day of interfaith services around the city. President Barack Obama is slated to speak and performers include Alan Jackson, Patti LaBelle and the Marine Chamber Orchestra.
