Remembering 9/11: US marks 14th anniversary of September 11 attacks

As the bells tolled many a tear shed in memory of a sorrowful day.

New York police officers gather before a ceremony marking the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in Lower Manhattan in New York. Photograph: Andrew Kelly/ Reuters

Fourteen years ago on September 11, several terrorists hijacked four passenger planes and drove two into New York City's World Trade Center and a third one into the Pentagon outside Washington.

Members of the Red White and Blue team run through the 9/11 Empty Sky memorial at sunrise across from New York's Lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center, in Liberty State Park in Jersey City. Photograph: Eduardo Munoz/ Reuters

A fourth jetliner crashed onto an empty field in Pennsylvania.

A Jersey City Fire Department boat throws water with the colons red, blue, and white along the Hudson during a ceremony for 9/11 victims at a memorial across from New York's Lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in Exchange Place, New Jersey. Photograph: Eduardo Munoz/ Reuters

In the end, the terrorists had killed nearly 3,000 people in what was to be the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil.

US General John Campbell (L), commander of NATO in Afghanistan, carries a wreath of flowers during a ceremony to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, in the United States, in Kabul, Afghanistan September 11, 2015. Photograph: Mohammad Ismail/ Reuters

On Friday, a resilient nation looked to the future while reminiscing about the days gone by.

Jersey City Fire Department members attend a ceremony for 9/11 victims at a memorial across from New York's Lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in Exchange Place, New Jersey. Photograph: Eduardo Munoz/ Reuters

US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle today led Americans in observing the 14th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama observe a moment of silence on the South Lawn of the White House to mark the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, in Washington. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/ Reuters

In New York, police and relatives of those killed at the WTC began the annual reading of names of victims at Ground Zero, the present site of the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

People read the victims' names of the 9/11 Empty Sky memorial at sunrise across from New York's Lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center, in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey. Photograph: Eduardo Munoz/ Reuters

At 8.46 am, precisely 14 years after American Airlines Flight 11 flown by Al-Qaeda terrorists smashed into the North Tower of the WTC with a force that would be heard across the world, there was silence on the South Lawn of the White House.

A member of the New York Fire Department salutes at the Wall of Remembrance, a memorial for fire fighters killed in the 9/11 attacks on the side of Engine 10, on the morning marking the 14th anniversary of the attacks, in New York. Photograph: Andrew Kelly/ Reuters

Obama stood, head bowed, along with his wife and senior staffers including his Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, National Security Advisor Susan Rice and spokesman Josh Earnest.

The flag atop the White House fluttered at half-staff.

A United States flag is reflected at the 9/11 Memorial after being unfurled at sunrise at the Pentagon in Washington. Photograph: Gary Cameron/ R

When the President and First Lady emerged, they walked silently and somberly along the aisle, halting just short of the bugler off to their right as four bells tolled.

An attendant reacts while names of 9/11 victims are read during a ceremony at a memorial across from New York's Lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in Exchange Place, New Jersey. Photograph: Eduardo Munoz/ Reuters

Heads bowed, the President and First Lady looked down for the moment of silence, the silence pierced only by plane noises and the sounds of camera drives clicking.

A boy places his hand on a man's shoulder during a ceremony marking the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in Lower Manhattan in New York. Photograph: Andrew Kelly/ Reuters

They then looked up and placed their hands over their hearts as the 'Taps' tune was played.

A boy walks among some of the 3,000 flags placed in memory of the lives lost in the September 11, 2001 attacks, at a park in Winnetka, Illinois. Photograph: Jim Young/ Reuters

At the WTC, where most of the victims were, bagpipers and drummers provided solemn tunes to accompany a ceremony in which people read the names of the dead.

Roses are seen placed at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in Lower Manhattan in New York. Photograph: Andrew Kelly/ Reuters

Moments of silence were observed at the specific times when the planes struck.

The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people when four hijacked airliners crashed into the WTC twin towers, the Pentagon in Washington, and in a field in Pennsylvania.

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