National Moment Of Silence Held For 9/11 Anniversary

Thousands of Americans across the country paused for a moment of silence Thursday morning to remember those 3,000 people killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

On the White House's South Lawn, President Barack Obama joined his wife, Michelle, Vice President Joe Biden and other members of the White House staff to have a moment of silence for those who died in the horrific American tragedy. The president and first lady then traveled to the Pentagon for the annual Observance Ceremony for the attacks.

In the financial district of Manhattan in New York City, the families of those who perished in the attack gathered at the World Trade Center memorial for the annual reading of the names of those who were killed in the attack. The name reading only paused four times to mark four events in the timeline of Sept. 11, 2001: the plane hitting the first tower, the plane hitting the second tower, the first tower collapsing, and the second tower collapsing.

Thelma Stuart, who lost her husband, a Port Authority Police Officer, in the attacks, said at the World Trade Center memorial service that the nation should pray for its leaders, "that God will grant them wisdom, knowledge and understanding on directing them on moving forward."

President Obama will also deliver an address at the Pentagon on Thursday, where he is expected to briefly discuss the United States' strategy to counter the current terrorist threat of the Islamic State.

The president announced Wednesday in an address to the American people that the U.S. will begin Syria airstrikes in an effort to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the Islamic State.