Voices of gratitude, defiance mark Boston bombing memorial

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, other leaders and survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing shared messages of thanks and defiance on Tuesday at a tribute to the three people killed and 264 wounded in the attack exactly one year ago.

From Patrick Downes, who lost a leg when a pair of homemade bombs ripped through the crowd at the race's finish line, to Biden, speakers recalled how police officers, spectators and others on the scene reacted immediately to help the wounded amid the chaos on April 15, 2013.

Former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, who managed the response to the attack during the final year of his two decades in office, recalled the struggles of the families of Martin Richard, 8, Krystle Campbell, 29, and Chinese national Lu Lingzi, 23, who died in the largest mass-casualty attack on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001.

"You have struggled to get through the good days and the bad," said Menino, who had been hospitalized at the time of the blasts but responded to the scene against his doctor's orders.

"I know because so many of you have told me about this year of firsts. First birthday without your beloved son, first holiday without your daughter, first July 4 where the fireworks scared you." Downes, who had been standing near the finish line with his wife when the bombs went off, causing each to lose a leg, told the crowd of about 2,500 people that he had been impressed by the city's outpouring of support for the wounded.

"We would never wish the devastation and pain we have experienced on any of you," Downes said.

"However, we do wish that all of you, at some point in your lives, feel as loved as we have every day of this past year."

Following the ceremony, the crowd walked down Boylston Street, the final stretch of the marathon, amid heavy rain and high winds to watch officials raise an American flag at the finish line.

At 2:49 p.m. EDT (1849 GMT), the time the first bomb went off, the city observed a moment of silence. Afterwards, churches throughout Boston tolled their bells and ships in the city's harbor sounded their horns.

Federal prosecutors contend that a pair of ethnic Chechen brothers placed the pressure-cooker bombs at the race's crowded finish line and three days later shot dead a police officer in an unsuccessful attempt to steal his gun.

Biden, who had also spoken at a memorial service for the slain officer soon after the attacks, sounded a note of defiance in his remarks. He said events like those at the marathon or the 2001 destruction of New York's WorldTradeCenter and attack on the Pentagon demonstrate the resolve of average Americans.

"We refuse to bend, refuse to change, refuse to yield to fear," Biden said.

"That is what makes us so proud of this city and this state, what makes me be so proud to be an American. It’s that we have never, ever yielded to fear. Never."

At Tuesday's ceremony, which also featured performances by the Boston Pops and a youth choir, Roxbury Presbyterian Church Rev. Liz Walker summoned the memory of the three killed in the bombing, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier, who was shot dead by the brothers days after the marathon.

"Today we remember Krystle Campbell, her energy and zest, her adventure and passion, a generosity of spirit, a light that will never fade," Walker said.

"We remember Lingzi Lu, heart and sparking eyes, music and guilelessness, a welcome smile that beams forever ... We remember Martin Richard, tough and competitive, kind and caring, a Dorchester kid through and through. And we will remember Sean Collier, dedicated, with honor, trusted and respected."

Before the ceremony, Mayor Martin Walsh and Roman Catholic Cardinal Sean O'Malley, accompanied by the families of the three killed in the bombing, began the day on a quiet note, visiting wreathes lain at the spots on Boylston Street where the bombs went off.

This year's Boston Marathon, set for April 21, will take place under heightened security, with the 36,000 runners and tens of thousands of expected spectators facing new restrictions, including bans on carrying backpacks into the race corridor.

The Boston Police Department late on Tuesday reported that two backpacks were found near the race's finish line and we're being inspected by the bomb squad.

Boston police said they had taken a male suspect linked to the backpacks into custody. Local media reported that a barefoot man with black paint on his face had been seen on the site and described him as having screamed.

In last year's attack, authorities say the ethnic Chechen brothers, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, carried their bombs to the finish line in backpacks.

Three days later, the FBI released pictures of the suspected bombers and asked for the public's help in finding them. That prompted the Tsarnaev brothers to attempt a hasty flight from Boston, which began with them shooting MIT police officer Collier, prosecutors said.

The resulting police chase ended in a gunbattle in the Boston suburb of Watertown. Tamerlan, 26, was killed; Dzhokhar, now 20, escaped before being captured on April 19.

The surviving brother is awaiting trial on charges that carry the possibility of execution if he is convicted.