RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
Today, the nation pauses to remember those killed in the September 11th attacks. At the site of the Twin Towers in Manhattan, the names of the victims are being read aloud.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Rita Blau(ph)...
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Richard Middleton Blood, Jr.(ph)...
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: And my uncle and godfather, Michael Andrew McCartis(ph)...
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
At the Pentagon this morning, President Obama paid tribute to men and women who served this country.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: You put on the uniform or you devote yourself to a cause greater than yourself, just like they did, that's a testimony to them. And in your resilience you've taught us all there's no trouble we cannot endure and there's no calamity we cannot overcome.
MONTAGNE: And in lonely field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the victims of United Flight 93 will be remembered in an open air service.
INSKEEP: Throughout the rest of the country, communities are commemorating in their own ways. At Eastern Kentucky University, for example, a memorial wall is being dedicated, etched with the names of more than 418 first responders killed that day. Three hundred forty-three were New York City firefighters.
MONTAGNE: Firefighters in the Sacramento are remembering their New York counterparts this way. In full gear they will climb the stairs of one of the city's tallest buildings, 110 stories; each will carry the name of one of the fallen, recreating the climb so many made that morning in New York 12 years ago. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.