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CNN Sunday Morning

New York Prepares Memorial Service at World Trade Center Site

Aired October 28, 2001 - 08:25   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.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: For only the second time since the attacks on the World Trade Center, recovery work at the site has shut down. That's so a special memorial service can be held there today for the families of the victims.

Gary Tuchman is live near ground zero with more. Good morning to you, Gary.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Marty.

And today will be a painful, emotional and difficult day for the grieving family members. But perhaps some will be able to take home some comfort. But, frankly, we don't know what to expect because even for those of us who've been here to ground zero, it is still a stunning site to look back there and see that. You still smell the pungent odor that we have smelled now for 47 days. And for many of the relatives who will be coming here, sitting right next to the ruins of the World Trade Center, it will be the first time they have seen this up close.

So we don't know how many people actually will turn out. Five thousand chairs are being set up right behind me just to the east of where the World Trade Center Complex used to be, but we don't know if that many people will come. Up to 4,700 people missing and presumed dead from the disaster on September 11.

Now for the first time, work has stopped for an extended period. It stopped on the one-month anniversary for a short time, but it will now be stopped for many hours as we get prepared for this memorial service, which will begin at 2:00 Eastern time and last for about 90 minutes.

Even six weeks and five days later, we still see smoke rising. There are small fires under the rubble that they continually have to put out. Now this will be an interfaith service today, with musical interludes from artists like Andrea Bocelli and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The mayor of New York City will also be here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RUDOLPH GIULIANI (R), NEW YORK: The World Trade Center is now a burial ground of very, very large proportions. Whatever the numbers turn out to be -- and I understand, you know, there's many different possibilities with regard to the numbers that we have lost -- the numbers will be among the highest, if not the highest, America has ever lost.

So, you know, for some -- for some people, it is very comforting being there. For others, it may not be of comfort. So that's why this is very optional and it's up to -- it's up to the families. If this is helpful, then it's being offered to try to help them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: Organizers of this event know it will not be for everybody. But for those who will be here, it will no doubt be very powerful.

Marty, back to you.

SAVIDGE: It certainly will, Gary.

What about the timing? Why specifically now is it felt this was the appropriate time to have such a service?

TUCHMAN: Right. It's not a specific anniversary or anything like that, Marty. It's 47 days -- six weeks, five days. But it was the time they felt they were ready to do something like this. That family members said, OK, we are ready now to come out to the site, to see the site, to try to be comforted. So it was just a matter of people feeling ready to do this.

But as we know, many people will never be ready to come to this site.

SAVIDGE: No they won't. You're exactly right, Gary. Thank you.

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