President George W. Bush today paid tribute to victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks with a moment of silence at the White House followed by the dedication of a memorial at the US Defense Department.
"We will always honour the victims of 9/11,'' he said in a speech before dedicating a memorial to those who died when American Airlines Flight 77 plowed into the Pentagon about one hour after two other terrorist-hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center.
"Since 9/11 our troops have taken our fight to the terrorists abroad so we do not have to fight them at home,'' Mr Bush said.
"Thanks to the brave men and women, there has not been another attack on our soil in 2,557 days.''
The memorial at the Defense Department is a two-acre park featuring 184 cantilevered, stainless steel benches, each with a small reflecting pool beneath and each inscribed with the name of someone who died.
Meanwhile, the families and friends of the 2,751 people who died when two hijacked passenger jets slammed into the World Trade Center's twin towers gathered at Ground Zero to observe the seventh anniversary of the attack.
Bells tolled in Zuccotti Park, a block from Ground Zero, at 8:46 am and 9:03 am US time, marking the moments when planes crashed into each tower, and at 9:59 am and 10:29 am, when each building collapsed into a fiery cloud of smoke and debris.
Although 2007 was to be the final opportunity for family members to descend a ramp and touch the ground where the towers stood, construction delays at the 16-acre site permit one last visit this year.
Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama intend to mark the occasion at the scene, although neither will address the crowd, their campaigns said.
"It's very emotional; every day of my life is emotional,'' said Sally Regenhard, whose son Christian (28), a probationary New York City firefighter, died while participating in the rescue of the 25,000 people who evacuated the buildings safely.
In what's become a yearly ritual, friends and family will read the names of the dead, with government officials reciting poems and an occasional musical interlude. Four blocks away, the New York Stock Exchange marked a minute of silence at 9:25 am.
Those who reading passages during the observance included New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani; governors David Paterson of New York and Jon Corzine of New Jersey and former New York Governor George Pataki.
Bloom