WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will attend anniversary ceremonies on September 11 at the three sites where terrorists launched their deadly US attacks a decade ago, the White House said Tuesday.
"On September 11, 2011, the president and Mrs. Obama will join with the rest of the American people in marking the 10th anniversary of a day that we will never forget," spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.
"The president will participate in commemorations at each of the three locations where we lost so many loved ones: in lower Manhattan, in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon."
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said last week that the annual event at the "Ground Zero" site, where the World Trade Center once stood, will be attended by Obama's predecessor George W. Bush, who was president at the time of the worst terror attacks in US history.
Bush had passed up the opportunity to join Obama at Ground Zero in May in the days after US special forces killed terror mastermind Osama bin Laden.
The September event in New York will coincide with the unveiling of a memorial plaza including reflecting pools on the footprints of the destroyed Twin Towers.
Throughout the day, Obama "will pay tribute to those we lost, honor the Americans who responded on that day and who served in harm's way over the last decade," Carney said.
"He will underscore the strength, resilience and unity of the American people."
The day before the anniversary, on September 10, Vice President Joe Biden will attend the dedication of the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Carney said.
That is the site where a United Airlines jet crashed into a field after heroic passengers and crew tried to overpower hijackers once they learned a terror attack was in progress.
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