City Marks Tenth Anniversary Of 9/11 Attacks Under Heavy Guard

Security was tight across the five boroughs as the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the September 11th terror attacks were remembered today at the 10th anniversary ceremony on the site of the World Trade Center.The event marked the opening of the National September 11th Memorial, a pair of pools in the footprint of the Twin Towers surrounded by bronze panels etched with the names of 9/11 victims.

The unveiling of the memorial after five years of construction allowed family members to see the names of the their loved ones permanently inscribed at the site, and scores of mourners lined up to pay their respects.

The memorial officially opens to the general public on Monday.

The ceremony took place under heightened security following reports earlier in the week of a possible terror plot designed to disrupt the anniversary. However, the event took place without incident.

As in past anniversaries, family members read the name of each victim of the World Trade Center attacks, with the addition this year of victims of the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pa., attacks. Over the course of nearly four hours, pairs of family members read each set of names, adding personal statements at the end of each group.

"We miss you and we love you," said the daughter of Juanita Lee, who worked in the Twin Towers. "You are in our hearts forever."

"We love you and miss you so much," said the wife of Roy Michael Wallace, one of 658 Cantor Fitzgerald staff members who perished in 1 World Trade Center.

"I hope in heaven there's always cold beer and the Yankees always win the World Series," said the son of the Patrick Waters, an FDNY captain who died in the North Tower.

The nearly five-hour long ceremony concluded with the playing of taps, performed by members of the city's police and fire departments, the Port Authority and the U.S. military.

The event began at 8:35 a.m. with Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivered the opening remarks, followed by a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. to mark the time the first plane hijacked hit the North Tower.

Moments of silence were also observed at 9:03 a.m. when the second plane struck the South Tower; 9:37 a.m. when a plane hit the Pentagon; 9:59 a.m. when the South Tower fell; 10:03 a.m. when Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, and 10:28 a.m. when the North Tower fell.

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush were in attendance, and all four walked around the reflecting pools and observed a private moment of silence before the ceremony.

At the start of the ceremony President Obama read Psalm 46 while former President Bush read a letter written by Abraham Lincoln to a mother who lost all five of her sons in the Civil War.

The ceremony also featured performances by cellist Yo-Yo Ma and singers James Taylor and Paul Simon.

Other politicians in attendance included former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, former Governor George Pataki and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan and his predecessor Edward Cardinal Egan attended a Port Authority remembrance service immediately following the World Trade Center ceremony.

The Roman Catholic Mass was held at nearby St. Peter's Church, which was damaged in the terror attacks.

Missing Van Found As Terror Probe, Security Measures Continue

Security throughout the city was at its peak in the hours leading up to the ceremony at the World Trade Center site, but Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said that these extra measures will remain through this week.

In Lower Manhattan, trash cans were removed and checkpoints were set up for traffic headed downtown.

Police rapid response teams also blanketed the city with thousands of officers throughout the night.

The NYPD was monitoring the entire city for any suspicious activity from its new Joint Operations Center. City, state, and federal agencies sit side-by-side inside the $49 million center, which uses the latest technology in an effort to protect the city from any possible terrorist threat.

Counterterrorism officials spent the week chasing a tip that al-Qaida was sending three men to the United States to detonate a car bomb.

However, no additional intelligence has supported that information, leading some officials to question the validity of that tip.

Police have not yet been able to link the stealing of two vans stolen from a Queens construction company that was working near the World Trade Center site to any terror plot, according to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

The Queens company's other van and another van stolen from Jersey City have not been found.

Kelly said there is no proof yet that the Queens theft and the Jersey City theft are linked.

The Queens van that was located had about $70,000 worth of tools stolen, according to Kelly.

Senior U.S. officials said prior to the ceremony that intelligence agencies had found no evidence that anyone linked to al-Qaida had entered the country to carry out an attack to coincide with today's anniversary.

Authorities, though, remain on high alert as investigators continued to look for proof of a plot to possibly disrupt events planned in New York or Washington.

In addition to security measures being taken in and around the World Trade center site, police set up checkpoints at major transit hubs, bridges, tunnels, landmarks, and houses of worship.

Police were also checking bags in the subways, and bomb sniffing dogs and National Guard soldiers were on duty.