Honoring Memory of Sept. 11 Victims

To mark the second anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, the names of victims will be read aloud by children who lost relatives in the tragedy, officials said Monday.

“Our intent is to hold a ceremony that is simple and powerful and that honors the memory of those lost, so we can remember and reflect,” said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. “We plan to mark this anniversary as a day of remembrance and pride, but equally as a day on which we turn toward the future.

“In keeping with that, we will ask our children to take the lead in the ceremony. It is in them that the spirit of our city lives on.”

As in last year’s commemoration, there will be no speeches at the site. Plans call for 200 children to recite the names of all 2,792 victims -- a process that took 2 1/2 hours last year.

There will be several significant pauses. A moment of silence will occur at 8:46 a.m., when the first hijacked airliner hit the north tower. Throughout the city, houses of worship will toll their bells.

At 9:03 a.m., there will be a moment of silence for the time the second plane crashed into the south tower. Other silences will mark the collapse of the south tower at 9:59 a.m. and the north tower at 10:29 a.m.

“We will never forget the individual lives that were lost, the tremendous personal sacrifices and the countless acts of heroism that will forever mark Sept. 11, 2001, as a day the world changed forever,” said Gov. George E. Pataki.

Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey will join Bloomberg and Pataki at the memorial.

Families will be permitted to descend a ramp to the lowest level of the trade center site, where they can place flowers. A police and fire department honor guard will also include members of the Port Authority Police Department and victims’ families.

In the evening, a “Tribute in Light” will take place. Twin beams will soar skyward, evoking the structure of the towers. The searchlights were first turned on for several weeks in the spring of 2002. City officials said the lights would shine every Sept. 11.