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American Morning

Special Ceremony to be Held at Arlington

Aired September 12, 2002 - 08:43   ET

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

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Live picture here across the Potomac. Arlington National Cemetery, very special ceremony today, honoring those killed in the Pentagon a year ago yesterday and those on board the plane used to attack that building.
Bob Franken is live at the cemetery to let us know what we can expect a bit later today -- hey Bob, good morning.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill, and of the 260,000 approximately who are buried here, another 184 are going to be added, at least symbolically. This is really a service because five of the -- those who were identified as killed in the Pentagon remains have never really been found, and so they are going to have a procedure here that is called a group burial. They don't do it very often, but they are going to do it now. It will include what they believe to be the remains of those undiscovered five, plus remains of the rest of the 184, all cremated, all put into one coffin that is going to be brought to a special site. Now, there is going to be a service at the amphitheater here, which is extremely unusual. The last time there was a service, as a matter of fact, was with the burial of the Air Force chief of staff in 1950.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is going to be among those taking part in the ceremony, and then the coffin is going to be put on a caisson, a horse-drawn caisson, which will be taken to a site just a short while away, site 64, it is called. It is very special.

There will be a five-sided memorial. It will also overlook the Pentagon. As a matter of fact, we are told that when the leaves fall off the trees as autumn and winter come, the shadow of the Pentagon at certain times of the day, on a sunlit day, will be able to be spotted.

Now the reason this is being held today is really not out of any significance in its proximity to September 12, except for the practical reason that the families of the 184 who died at the Pentagon would all, in fact, be in town, so it was convenient for them. That is why this service is being held today. A service that some hope will bring some closure, a service that at least will continue the memorializing of this tragic event which happened just a year ago yesterday -- Bill.

HEMMER: Thanks for setting the table for us Bob. Bob Franken, Arlington National Cemetery. To our viewers, live coverage again when that begins, anticipated in about 15 minutes, 9:00 Eastern time.

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