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The President visited all three of the cities that were struck on September 11th. After leaving New York, he and the First Lady attended a wreath laying ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania at the site of the crash of United Flight 93. They also attended a commemoration ceremony at the Pentagon. They started their day at a firehouse on the Lower East Side. The President and Mrs. Bush had breakfast with a group of firefighters, police officers and Port Authority officers before heading outside to observe the moments of silence commemorating when the planes hit the towers. The president skipped the official anniversary observances at the crash sites to avoid the distraction that accompanies a presidential appearance. Outside Washington, thousands gathered at the Pentagon Monday morning. Bagpipes played Amazing Grace, and mourners observed a moment of silence at 9:37 a.m., the exact moment American Airlines Fight 77 slammed into the west wall of the Pentagon, killing 184 people. Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld were among those attending a solemn remembrance ceremony. "What happened here on September 11th challenges anyone's power of description," said the vice president. "Perhaps no one expressed it better than an Army lieutenant colonel who was here that morning attempting to rescue others. It was all, as he put it, 'so cheap, dirty and senseless.'" In the Pentagon courtyard, 184 lights are beaming into the sky above the building. The lights were turned on Sunday night and will shine through tonight. After visiting all three cities hit on 9/11, the president will deliver a prime-time speech from the Oval office. NY1 will carry his address live at 9 p.m. NY1's Sandra Endo filed the following report. The bell tolled and the president and first lady observe two moments of silence, marking each time a plane hit the towers five years ago. President Bush honored the anniversary of 9/11 with first responders at a firehouse on the Lower East Side. NYPD officers, firefighters and Port Authority police officers had breakfast with the president. NYPD officer Brian Little returned to New York in January after serving a year in Iraq. He said that he agrees with the president's efforts there. "Anyone who neglects what we're living through today, anyone who neglects this mission, I don't want to hear them complain tomorrow when it gets worse for them," said Little. There was little criticism of the Commander in Chief. "He never let us down from the time that it happened; he was right in our corner," said NYPD Sgt. Paul Hargrove. "He's a great man and I'm so glad he came here today," added FDNY Battalion Chief James Savastano. A tattered door marked for Ladder Company 18 carries visible signs of the tragic events that unfolded five years ago. The memory of that day is still vivid in the minds of many first responders. "I can't believe it's been five years, where did the time go," said retired firefighter Gary Sims. "The entire event was like it was yesterday," said PAPD Inspector John Kasamatis. "I relive it every day, every minute of the day for the rest of my life, and it's something I just have to live with."
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