9/11: United States marks 12th anniversary of attacks

Americans marked the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks around the country with remembrances today. President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden attended a moment of silence at the White House and relatives of the victims visited the memorial sites at the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pa. The attacks, which claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people, were the deadliest terrorist strike on American soil. -- Lloyd Young ( 25 photos total)

A woman touches a carnation left on a name inscribed into the North Pool during 9/11 Memorial ceremonies marking the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11 in New York City. The nation is commemorating the anniversary of the 2001 attacks which resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people after two hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia and one crash landed in Shanksville, Pa. Following the attacks in New York, the former location of the Twin Towers has been turned into the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. (Adrees Latif-Pool/Getty Images)

The sun rises in back of One World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, seen from Jersey City, N.J., on Sept. 11. Ceremonies will be held Wednesday to mark the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. (Mel Evans/Associated Press) #

A woman pauses along the edge of the North Pool at the 9/11 Memorial during a ceremony marking the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. (Justin Lane/European Pressphoto Agency/pool photo) #

President Barack Obama First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Dr. Jill Biden and White House staff observe a moment of silence to mark the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, along with White House staff, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington DC. (Kevin Dietsch/European Pressphoto Agency/pool photo) #

Buddy Barber of the Emergency Service Pipes & Drums performs at the Capitol in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 113. The bagpipe and drum group, which is made up of nearly 30 emergency workers, played in memory of those lost in the 9/11 attacks. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via Associated Press) #

A man sits in the Pentagon Memorial park as he waits for President Obama to speak at a ceremony at the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial. (Pete Marovich/European Pressphoto Agency) #

Navy honor guard prepares a wreath before the arrival of US Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell at the Flight 93 National Memorial during ceremonies commemorating the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in Shanksville, Pa. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images) #

A man runs past the 9/11 Empty Sky memorial at sunrise across from New York's Lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, on Sept. 11. (Gary Hershorn/Reuters) #

Katya Busoolo, center, pauses to remember her mother Irina Kolpakova at the 9/11 Memorial during ceremonies marking the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. (Alejandra Villa/European Pressphoto Agency/pool photo) #

Friends and family view names of victims along the South reflecting pool at the 9/11 Memorial during ceremonies marking the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. (Allan Tannenbaum/European Pressphoto Agency/pool photo) #

Family and friends of Wayne A. Russo hold his images while attending the 9/11 Memorial ceremonies marking the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. (Adrees Latif/Reuters) #

Friends and relatives of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks gather at the World Trade Center site in New York City. (Jason DeCrow/Associated Press) #

A New York City firefighter from Engine 54, Ladder 4, Battalion 9, carries flowers during a ceremony at a park dedicated to honoring members of the firehouse on West 48th Street who lost their lives in the attacks on the World Trade Center on the 12th anniversary of the attacks in New York City. Fifteen firefighters from Engine 54, Ladder 4, Battalion 9 died in the 9/11 attacks, the most of any fire company in New York. (Mike Segar/Reuters) #

Kellen Savoy, center, helps present the colors as students raise the flag at William Lloyd Meador Elementary School on Sept. 11 in Willis, Texas. Students and teachers gathered before school to raise the flag to half staff to mark the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. (Jason Fochtman/Conroe Courier via Associated Press) #

New York City firefighter Mike Bellantoni prepares a memento at the Firefighter's Memorial adjacent to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 before the start of the official ceremonies at the 9/11 Memorial nearby. (Craig Ruttle/Associated Press) #

Hope McHale weeps at a firefighters memorial during a ceremony commemorating the 12th anniversary of 9/11 attacks in New York City. McHale's husband, fire marshal Martin "Woodie" McHale survived the collapse of the World Trade Center but died Christmas Eve 2012 of a heart attack. The New York City fire department (FDNY), held a wreath-laying ceremony at the New York City Fire Museum to honor the 343 firefighters who died in the attacks. (John Moore/Getty Images) #

A worker waits for passing walkers during the 21-mile "March to the Arch" memorial walk on Sept. 11 in Chesterfield, Mo. to mark the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. (Erik M. Lunsford/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via Associated Press) #

An unidentified woman becomes emotional during a remembrance ceremony for the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, at the Pentagon. (Kevin Dietsch/European Pressphoto Agency/pool photo) #

A note was left on a name at the North Pool at the 9/11 Memorial during a ceremony marking the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. (Justin Lane/European Pressphoto Agency/pool photo) #

Carrie Bergonia of Pennsylvania looks over the name of her fiance, firefighter Joseph Ogren, at the 9/11 Memorial during ceremonies marking the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. (Chris Pedota/Associated Press/pool photot) #

President Obama is silhouetted as speaks during a ceremony at the Pentagon Memorial to mark the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in Washington, DC. (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images) #

A woman wipes her eyes after reading the name of her brother, Bobby Hughes, as friends and relatives of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks gather at the National September 11 Memorial at the World Trade Center site. (Jason DeCrow/Associated Press) #

TSA employees gathered to pay their respects at the 9/11 Memorial at Logan Airport in Boston. Two of the planes that struck the World Trade Center towers took-off from Logan. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe) #

Daniel Henry, a Port Authority of New York/New Jersey police officer, pauses during a moment of silence at 9:01 am EDT, at the South reflecting pool at the 9/11 Memorial during ceremonies marking the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. (Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images/pool photo) #

A heart shaped balloon floats past the Freedom Tower during the 9/11 Memorial marking the 12th Anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. (David Handschuh/New York Daily News/pool photo) #