The 9/11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people, mark their 19th anniversary.
A memorial event was held in New York City, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the Department of Defense (Pentagon) near Washington, DC on the 11th local time to remember the most tragic moments in American history and to honor the victims.'
In New York's'Ground Zero', the site of the former World Trade Center (WTC), where most of the victims were concentrated, two beams of blue'light of mourning', symbolizing the twin towers destroyed by terrorist attacks, lit up New York the night before.
This September 11, in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus infection, which killed more people than at the time, came closer to a more gloomy and quiet atmosphere than ever.
According to the New York Times (NYT), Corona 19 killed 23,000 people in New York City alone this year, more than 8.5 times more than 2,700 people killed in New York City 19 years ago.
Corona 19 has also changed the way Americans celebrate 9/11.
The official memorial ceremony held at Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan, New York this morning, broke the tradition of mourning and calling the names of loved ones by the bereaved family members, and played the pre-recorded voice to call only the names of the victims one after another.
Thousands of survivors and other attendees wore all-out masks, and White House Secret Service (SS) agents, firefighters, and police officers were no exceptions that filled the surrounding streets.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and Vice President Mike Pence also attended wearing masks and greeted elbows.
They quietly silenced themselves in the tradition of disallowing speeches from politicians or high-ranking officials at 9/11 memorial services.
The 9/11 Memorial Museum even tried to cancel the launch of the'Light of Condolences' because there was a risk of spreading Corona 19 by gathering a crowd.
When the bereaved were angry with the cancellation plan released a month ago, they eventually overturned the decision and decided to shoot two rays from the eve to the night.
Some bereaved families, who thought they had been deprived of their chances of mourning, held a separate memorial event in Zucotti Park, a few blocks from Ground Zero, apart from the official memorial service.
A separate memorial service organized by an organization dedicated to the firefighters who died during the terrorist attacks also applied the rules of wearing a mask and keeping a distance of 6 feet.
Vice Presidents and Pence also attended this event to read the Bible and comfort the bereaved.
The Pentagon memorial event did not invite the bereaved family at all, but instead allowed a separate visit to the memorial hall after the event.
In addition, the Associated Press reported that there have been cases where the memorial event has been canceled due to Corona 19 in other regions.
This year's September 11th was held two months before the presidential election, drawing attention to the actions of President Donald Trump and Candidate Biden, who are seeking re-election.
President Trump visited the site of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where one of the planes hijacked by terrorists crashed, and Biden is also set to head to Shanksville after the New York memorial ceremony.
One of the major contenders, Pennsylvania, is where President Trump barely beat the then-Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election by less than 1 percent.