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CNN Live At Daybreak

Why Some People Chose to Attend Yesterday's Memorial Service in New York

Aired October 29, 2001 - 06:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Services filled with music and prayers and the audience with tears and pictures of the loved ones who never walked away from ground zero. CNN's Brian Palmer explains why some of the 9200 people chose to attend yesterday's memorial service in New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN PALMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The wind cooperated, clearing the sky and delivering beautiful hopeful melodies to thousands gathered at ground zero to grieve for loved ones lost on September 11th. A public memorial service to heal private wounds.

Recovery activity at ground zero stopped for the service, the first time since the one-month anniversary of the attacks when a moment of silence was observed. Dignitaries assembled but did not speak, leaving the day to the musicians, the mourners, and the men of faith who shared messages of sorrow and renewal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are in mourning Lord. We have hardly any tears left to shed. For the past, almost seven weeks, our world has been engulfed in fear and hurt. Help us to set things right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In Hebrew we say (INAUDIBLE) heal those who are broken. We come here today to hold those who hurt so much, to help those who need so much, and to hear those who cry so much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we should have no differences. But our differences should be the beauty of our faces and our cultures, the beauty of our ways of worship of you.

PALMER: And for every family, for each person, different reasons for attending the memorial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe this ceremony today will give us some closure, but I don't think so. I think this is going to last a long time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I lost my husband in the World Trade Center, so we just came to, I guess, I don't know, put some sort of closure to the incident (ph) and to pay our respects.

PALMER: And in a larger sense, the service may also help the nation recover and reclaim something of what was lost at least in spirit on September 11th.

Brian Palmer, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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