Obama, McCain to join for 9/11 anniversary

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. presidential rivals John McCain and Barack Obama will mark the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks together, their campaigns announced Saturday.

The candidates plan a joint appearance at the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan, The Washington Post reported.

"All of us came together on 9/11 -- not as Democrats or Republicans but as Americans. In smoke-filled corridors and on the steps of the Capitol; at blood banks and at vigils -- we were united as one American family," the statement read. "On Thursday, we will put aside politics and come together to renew that unity, to honor the memory of each and every American who died, and to grieve with the families and friends who lost loved ones."

The candidates, in their joint statement, said they would also thank the firefighters and police officers who responded to the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pa., where the fourth plane crashed.