At Pentagon, a solemn memorial and a pledge to fight terror

By Mary Leonard, Globe Staff, 9/12/2003

WASHINGTON -- The nation's capital yesterday marked the second anniversary of what President Bush called "a sad and terrible day" with solemn ceremonies of remembrance and respect for the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, especially the 184 people who perished when hijackers slammed American Airlines Flight 77 into a just-renovated wedge of the Pentagon.

At a wreath-laying service at Arlington National Cemetery, where 64 of the Pentagon victims are buried and a simple granite memorial honors each one by name, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld pointed to the rebuilt site of the attack, spoke of the patriotism of those who died there, and pledged to win the fight against international terrorism.

"The fight for freedom continues because we know that if we do not fight the terrorists over there in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and across the world, then we will have to face them here, and many more innocent men, women, and children, as well as patriots defending them, will perish," Rumsfeld told about 400 family members, airline personnel, and military officers and civilians who gathered on the verdant cemetery grounds for a somber 25-minute service. "We will prevail."

The sky was bright blue and cloudless, a beautiful day just like Sept. 11, 2001, although an occasional passenger jet coming from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport pierced the sky and served as a jarring reminder of the horror two years ago.

Another reminder came in an updated State Department warning that Al Qaeda could be planning devastating terrorist attacks on US targets abroad to coincide with the Sept. 11 anniversary. The country remained under code yellow, the Department of Homeland Security's designation of a significant risk of terrorism.

Still, Washingtonians seemed to go about their normal routines yesterday of crowding subways, shopping, and lunching at outdoor cafes, a sharp contrast to the panic and gridlock that paralyzed the city immediately after the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center two years ago. From the White House to Capitol Hill, there was a determination yesterday not to dwell on the dangers or the debate over the war in Iraq, but to focus on those who lost loved ones on Sept. 11, 2001.

Bush, who on the first anniversary had traveled to New York, Shanksville, Pa., and the Pentagon and gave a speech on Ellis Island, kept a low profile in Washington, attending a prayer service at St. John's Episcopal Church with his wife, Laura, observing a moment of silence on the South Lawn of the White House, and visiting wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

"Today our nation remembers. We remember a sad and terrible day," Bush said after the church service where Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and FBI director Robert S. Mueller III read from the Scriptures. "We remember the lives lost. We remember the heroic deeds. We remember the compassion and the decency of our fellow citizens on that terrible day."

At noon, members of Congress, some wearing or waving small American flags, gathered on the sun-drenched western steps of the Capitol to observe a moment of silence, hear nonpartisan remarks from party leaders, and join in singing "God Bless America," just as many of them did on Sept. 11, 2001, and on the first anniversary.

"Sept. 11 is not about the president or members of Congress, and it's not a day for speechifying," said Representative James P. McGovern, Democrat of Worcester. "It's a day for all Americans, a day to remember and recommit."

McGovern recalled how on Sept. 11, 2001, he ran in fright from his office to find his son in the Library of Congress day care center. Although no one knows for certain, many officials believe the hijacked plane that crashed in Shanksville had been heading for the Capitol and might have reached the target if passengers had not thwarted the hijackers.

Maria Gordon, of Payne, Ohio, had been in Washington for the first time on Sept. 11, 2001, to lobby Congress on behalf of farming families. She ran from the Capitol in a panic, too, sure that the city was under siege and that she would not live to see her husband and two children in Ohio again.

"I do feel some anxiety being here, but I refuse to let that fear dictate my life," said Gordon, who returned to Washington on the first anniversary and cried with hundreds of other mourners at a service at the National Cathedral.

Yesterday, back in Washington with her 14-year-old son, Lucas, Gordon considered another visit to the cathedral, where this year the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, spoke about peace and compassion during a service of chants and prayers. "It's not that I've forgotten 9/11," Gordon said. "But I've been able to put it behind me and move forward."

Martha Carden, assistant executive officer for Army personnel, said she has moved forward, too. She is busier than ever and back in her old office at the Pentagon. But she said she will never forget Sept. 11, 2001, the day she lost 24 coworkers, including four members of her staff, when Flight 77 slammed directly into their work space.

"I look out my window and am still incredulous that I am alive," Carden said.

Mary Leonard can be reached at mleonard@globe.com.