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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 12, 2017)
NATION/WORLD Tuesday, September 12, 2017 East Oregonian Page 7A U.S. marks 9/11 with resolve, tears and hope NEW YORK (AP) — Amer- icans commemorated 9/11 on Monday with tear-streaked tributes, a presidential warning to terrorists and appeals from victims’ relatives for unity and hope 16 years after the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Looking out at the solemn crowd at ground zero, Debra Epps said she views every day as time to do some- thing to ensure that her brother, Christopher Epps, and thousands of others didn’t die in vain. “What I can say today is that I don’t live my life in complacency,” she said. “I stand in solidarity that this world will make a change for the better.” Thousands of family members, survivors, rescuers and others gath- ered for the hourslong reading of victims’ names at the World Trade Center, while President Donald Trump spoke at the Pentagon and Vice President Mike Pence addressed an observance at the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Elsewhere, thousands of Amer- icans marked the anniversary with service projects. Volunteer Hillary O’Neill, 16, had her own connec- tion to 9/11: It’s her birthdate. “I always feel a sense of respon- sibility to give back on the day,” O’Neill, of Norwalk, Connecticut, said as she packed up meals in New York City for needy local people and hurricane victims in Texas and Florida. Nearly 3,000 people were killed when planes hijacked by terrorists hit the trade center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville on Sept. 11, 2001, hurling America into a new consciousness of the threat of global terrorism. Reflecting on a tragedy that still feels immediate to them, victims’ relatives thanked first responders and the military, worried for people affected by Hurricane Irma as it continued its destructive path as a tropical storm and pleaded for a return to the sense of cohesiveness that followed the attacks. “Our country came together that day. And it did not matter what color you were or where you were from,” said a tearful Magaly Lemagne, who lost her brother, Port Authority of New York and AP Photo/Charlie Riedel People hold flags and wave at passing vehicles on Sept. 11, 2017, to remember the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks from an overpass on Interstate 35 near Melvern, Kan. Area residents began manning the bridge on the anniversary in 2002 and have done it every since drawing about 300 people throughout the day. New Jersey police officer David Lemagne. She implored people to “stop for a moment and remember all the people who gave their lives that day. “Maybe then we can put away our disagreements and become one country again,” she said. Trump, a native New Yorker observing the anniversary for the first time as the country’s leader, assured victims’ families that “our entire nation grieves with you” and issued stern words to extremists. “America cannot be intimidated, and those who try will join a long list of vanquished enemies who dared test our mettle,” the Republican president said as he spoke at the Pentagon after observing a moment of silence at the White House. When America is united, “no force on earth can break us apart,” he said. At the Flight 93 National Memo- rial, Pence said the passengers who revolted against hijackers might well have saved his own life. The Republican vice president was a member of Congress on 9/11, and the Capitol was a possible target of the terrorist piloting Flight 93. Instead, it crashed near Shanksville after the passengers took action. Thirty-three passengers and seven crew members were killed. At the United Nations, some ambassadors noted the anniversary as the Security Council unani- mously approved new sanctions against North Korea in response to its Sept. 3 test of what Pyongyang said was a hydrogen bomb “We will never forget the victims of Sept. 11, and we will never forget the lesson that those who have evil intentions must be confronted,” U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said. At dusk, the annual “Tribute in Light” art installation beamed two giant towers of light into the lower Manhattan skyline as a visual memorial to those who perished in the terror attack. The ceremony on the National September 11 Memorial & Evolving Trump: From business celebrity on 9/11 to stern leader WASHINGTON (AP) — In the 16 years since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, Donald Trump has evolved from a celebrity developer whose first public thoughts were about Manhattan’s suddenly altered skyline to the combative commander in chief who warned “savage killers” on Monday “there is no dark corner beyond our reach.” Trump was in his Fifth Avenue penthouse that clear fall day in 2001, four miles from the World Trade Center and, seemingly, in a previous life from the one he now leads. When the towers fell, he spoke with measured words about the attackers and about the wounds inflicted on his hometown, a sharp contrast to his more recent incendiary rhetoric about terrorists and his unproven claims about celebrating Muslims. On Monday, his first 9/11 anniversary as president, Trump carried out a familiar ritual for U.S. leaders. He stood, head bowed and hands clasped, for a moment of silence at the White House to mark the instant that a hijacked airplane had slammed into the World Trade Center. Later, at the Pentagon, where another plane had crashed, he prom- ised American resolve. “The terrorists who attacked us thought they could incite fear and weaken our spirit,” Trump said. “But America cannot be intimi- dated, and those who try will join a long list of vanquished enemies who dared test our mettle.” “American forces are relentlessly pursuing and destroying the enemies of all civilized people,” he declared. “We are making plain to these savage killers that there is no dark corner beyond our reach, no sanc- tuary beyond our grasp, and nowhere to hide anywhere on this very large Earth.” Trump’s initial response in the hours after terror attacks was more restrained. He had flirted with a pres- idential run before, but he Museum plaza in New York strives to be apolitical, allowing politicians to attend but not to speak. Yet last year’s 15th anniversary ceremony became entangled in the presiden- tial campaign when Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton left abruptly, stumbled into a van and ultimately revealed she’d been diagnosed days earlier with pneu- monia. This year, the focus remained on the names read out beneath the waterfall pools and lines of trees. While many Americans may no longer interrupt their days to observe the 9/11 anniversary, the ceremony remains a touchstone for many victims’ families and friends. “I’ll come every year for the rest of my life,” said Rob Fazio, who lost his father, Ronald Fazio. “It’s where I get my strength.” After 15 years of anniversaries, the reading of names, moments of silence and tolling bells have become rituals, but each ceremony takes on personal touches. Name- readers Monday gave updates on family graduations and marriages and remembered loved ones’ flair for surfing or drawing on coffee- shop napkins. A few never even got to know the relatives they lost on Sept. 11, 2001. “I wish more than anything that I could have met you,” Ruth Daly said after reading names in remem- brance of her slain grandmother and namesake, Ruth Lapin. Delaney Colaio read names in honor of the three relatives she lost: her father, Mark Joseph Colaio, and her uncles, Stephen Colaio and Thomas Pedicini. Just a toddler on 9/11, she is now making a documentary about the children who lost parents in the attacks. “I stand here as a reminder to the other families of 9/11 and to the world,” she said, “that no matter how dark moments of life can get, there is light ahead if you just choose hope.” Family Health & Fitness Day AP Photo/Evan Vucci President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump stand as “Taps” is played during a ceremony Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Monday at the Pentagon. had yet to embrace some of the hardline ideas that later emerged in his campaign. Nor had he yet had his rebirth as a national celebrity thanks to “The Apprentice.” In a local radio interview, Trump said that if he were president he’d be taking “a very, very tough line” but he drew no conclusions about who perpetrated the assault on American soil. “Most people feel they know at least approximately the group of people that did this and where they are,” Trump told WWOR. “But, boy, would you have to take a hard line on this. This just can’t be tolerated.” Trump vowed that his home city’s spirit would not be broken. Nor his. He could not resist noting that with the destruction of the 110-story twin towers, his building at 40 Wall Street now stood above all others in Lower Manhattan. “When they built the World Trade Center it became known as the second tallest,” Trump said of his building. “And now it’s the tallest.” In the years that followed, Trump’s views on terrorism hardened and his claims about 9/11 grew more outlandish and untrue. As a candidate, he often pledged to “bomb the hell out of ISIS” and vowed to enact a Muslim ban. In 2013, he posted a tweet saying, “I would like to extend my best wishes to all, even the haters and losers, on this special date, September 11th.” And when his pres- idential campaign ramped up, he singled out Muslims in saying that “thousands of people were cheering” in Jersey City, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from lower Manhattan, as the towers collapsed. There is no such evidence in news archives. Trump also said he lost “hundreds of friends” in the attack and helped clear rubble afterward. He has not provided the names of those he knew who perished in the attack, but has mentioned knowing a Roman Catholic priest who died while serving as a chaplain to the city’s fire department. He also criticized President George W. Bush, accusing him of failing in his duty to keep Americans safe. He repeatedly suggested President Barack Obama had not done enough to stamp out the threat posed by Islamic terror groups — in part by not calling out the danger as “radical Islamic terror.” On Monday, neither Trump nor his top aides used that phrase, though Trump has said it since taking office. The president has shown some signs of being affected by the gravity of his office. When he announced his war strategy for Afghanistan last month, he acknowledged that “decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office.” Saturday, September 23, 2017 9am-2pm at Hermiston High School FREE Health & Wellness Event for All Ages • BMI and body composition analysis • Blood pressure checks • Car seat checks • Cooking classes • Dental screening • Dental treatment for the uninsured • Teddy Bear clinic • Vision and hearing screenings • Mental health resources • Alcohol abuse and Addiction resources • Early childhood programs • Senior programs • SHIBA (Medicare), Oregon Health Plan, Veterans Services • Community Resource referrals • Door prizes • And much more! NO COST Well Checks for ages 12-21! Questions? Contact angie.treadwell@oregonstate.edu
