Obama, McCain lay flowers at Ground Zero

NEW YORK, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- John McCain and Barack Obama walked side by side to the Ground Zero reflecting pool in New York to mark the seventh anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Accompanying the two major-party presidential candidates down the ramp leading to the pit of what was once the World Trade Center were New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and McCain's wife, Cindy.

Michelle Obama was in Chicago with their children, CNN reported.

The two met with relatives of victims and first responders before placing roses in the pool already overflowing with flowers left by people who attended the commemoration of the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

After placing the roses in the pool, McCain and Obama paused for a moment of reflection, then met with police and fire personnel.

During the earlier ceremony, somber music provided an aural backdrop as the names of the victims who died when the World Trade Center's Twin Towers collapsed were read by family members or representatives of the 95 countries that were in the towers that day.

Four times a moment of silence was observed -- once each for when the airplanes piloted by terrorists rammed the towers and once each when the towers collapsed. Participants, many carrying photos of the victims, openly wept.

The trading floor of the nearby New York Stock Exchange was quiet as the traders observed a moment of silence. Congress observed a moment of silence.

Commemorations also were held in Shanksville, Pa., and at the Pentagon, where the first of three permanent memorials was dedicated.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued proclamations declaring Sept. 11 Patriot Day and September "Heroes of Flight 93" month. All four hijacked planes were bound for California.