Victims’ relatives mark the anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks

According to AP, Sept. 11 victims’ relatives marked the anniversary of the terror attacks Friday in a subdued gathering at ground zero, saying their determination to commemorate their loss publicly hadn’t dimmed even as 14 years have passed and crowds at the ceremony have thinned.

Hundreds of victims’ relatives — fewer than thronged the observances in their early years — gathered for what has become a tradition of tolling bells, moments of silence and the reading of the names of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terror strikes at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

“We come every year. The crowds get smaller, but we want to be here. As long as I’m breathing, I’ll be here,” said Tom Acquaviva, 81, who lost his son, Paul Acquaviva, a systems analyst who died in the trade center’s north tower.

Carrying photos emblazoned with the names of their loved ones, victims’ relatives prayed for peace, praised first responders and the armed forces and, mostly, sent personal messages of enduring loss and remembrance to loved ones some had never even had the chance to know.

“I wish I could meet you,” Valerie Arnold said to the memory of her uncle, firefighter Michael Boyle, who was off-duty but responded to the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, before she was born.

For Nereida Valle, who lost her daughter, Nereida De Jesus, “It’s the same as if it was yesterday. I feel her every day.

“In Washington, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama stepped out of the White House at 8:46 a.m. — when the first plane hit the north tower — to observe a moment of silence. Later Friday, President Obama was scheduled to observe the anniversary with a visit to Fort Meade, Maryland, in recognition of the military’s work to protect the country. (AP, MSN News. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)