‘ I know you’re up in heaven watching’

Loved ones’ absence grows sharper on 15th anniversary

Tears, vows and memories marked emotionally charged ceremonies Sunday at the World Trade Center site, the Pentagon and a rural field in western Pennsylvania on the 15th anniversary of the most deadly terror attack in U. S. history.

Bells tolled across much of the nation at 8: 46 a. m. ET, the mo- ment the first jet struck the north tower of the World Trade Center in 2001. Thousands gathered as family members, after a moment of silence, solemnly said aloud the names of the almost 3,000 victims. The presenters each read about 30 names, ending with a few words about their own loss.

“I love and miss you dearly, and I wish I was able to spend more time with you,” said Maria Frances Pullis, who was only 17 months old when her father, Edward, died in the devastation at Ground Zero. “But I know you’re up in heaven watching.”

Presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump attended the ceremony. Both left well before the almost four- hour program ended.

But the event wasn’t about them. Lionel Keaton traveled by bus from North Carolina with 50 relatives to pay homage to his niece Tamitha Freeman, who died when the south tower collapsed, spewing steel, glass and dust across Lower Manhattan.

“We just decided as a family since it was the 15th anniversary that we would all get together and make a bus trip to New York to celebrate her life,” Keaton said.

At the Pentagon, President Obama participated in a wreath ceremony and paid tribute to the 184 victims killed when American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the western side of the massive building. “No deed we do can ever truly erase the pain of their absence,” Obama said. “Your steadfast love and faithfulness has been an inspiration to me and our entire country.”

In Pennsylvania, Gordon Felt lost a brother on United Airlines Flight 93, which had flown out of Newark bound for San Francisco. The 9/ 11 Commission determined the hijackers had turned the jet around and were heading for a target in Washington. Some passengers fought for control of the jet, which crashed more than 150 miles northwest of Washington.

Forty victims on the jet were killed. “Patriotism and heroism” were on display that day, Felt said. “We can’t leave the events of Sept. 11 behind,” Felt said. “It will always be bittersweet for me.”

Tom Rooney, president of Rooney Sports, and some of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team comforted Flight 93 families 15 years ago and raised money for the memorial there.

“The first shot in the war on terrorism was fired by those who wrestled the control of the plane, brought it down and saved the Capitol,” Rooney said Sunday. “We feel almost like war veterans coming back to a war memorial.”