President Obama will spend the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks at the Pentagon, participating in a remembrance ceremony Saturday honoring the 184 people who died there when a hijacked plane crashed into the building.
The ceremony, which Obama also attended last year, will include a moment of silence and a wreath laying ceremony.
It is one of many events around the area to pay respect to those died in the four attacks — at the Pentagon, the World Trade Center towers in New York and on the plane that crashed into the Pennsylvania countryside after passengers fought the hijackers — and the heroes who worked to save them.
Greater D.C. Cares is coordinating a massive volunteering effort for the day, which Obama declared a national “day of service” last year. The group plans to bring together more than 10,000 volunteers from the District, Virginia and Maryland to work on more than 50 projects Friday and Saturday.
“The tragedy that occurred on September 11, 2001, left a vivid shield of sorrow on our country,” said Madye Henson, president and CEO of Greater DC Cares. “But it also sparked a spirit of service to help those in need.”
Others will join in the March on D.C., which will begin with a memorial service at the Washington Monument for emergency responders and military members who lost their lives helping others after the attacks. The service is sponsored by Unite in Action and will be followed by a march and rally later that afternoon.
Stephani Scruggs, president of Unite in Action, said the rally is a time to come together and celebrate America.
“The time for protests is over,” she said. “Now it’s time to get to work in our communities, not just in what our congressmen are doing or our senators are doing, but in our own communities.”
Others will pray at Washington National Cathedral, which will ring its funeral bell nine times at the beginning of its noon service to honor the ninth anniversary of the tragedy. The service will include prayers for the victims and others affected by the attacks.
