Firefighters from across the country crowded the sidewalks around St. Patrick's Cathedral on Saturday for a memorial service for their brethren killed in the 9/11 attacks.
Firefighters saluted as 343 flags carried by an honor guard passed, one for each firefighter who died.
"We came here to let these guys know we haven't forgotten about them, 10 years later," said Chris Pace from Las Vegas. "If it had happened in our city, we would have run into that building, too. And they would have been here for us now."
The crowd fell silent as the huge honor guard marched down Fifth Avenue and into the church.
The nation's largest fire department was holding the service the day before the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
During the service, a bespectacled Patrick Lyons, nearly 10 years old, spoke steadily and strongly about his father, Lt. Patrick Lyons of Squad 252 in Brooklyn, who died 26 days before he was born.
"Dear Dad: I just missed meeting you. ... I want you to know that Mommy is doing a great job of raising me," he said. "I know you are in heaven and always watching over me. I love knowing you are a hero. I wish I could have met you."
The FDNY is stronger now, said Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano, who was an assistant chief during the attack. He spoke of the tragedy of those who were sickened after working at ground zero.
"The world may have called them brave, but we just call it doing our jobs," he said. "They died doing what they joined the fire department to do: helping others."
Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised the courage of the department, which has about 14,000 uniformed members.
"In the FDNY, our city is lucky to have a group of men and women who can overcome natural fear to serve others," he said.
A polished antique fire engine, with Engine company 343 on its side, was parked in front of the cathedral.
'Still hear his voice'
Many of the firefighters from out of town worked at Ground Zero in the days after the attack, said John Murphy, 50, a battalion chief from Brooklyn.
"People all over the country jumped in their cars and came to New York," he said. "So we know each other from working down there together."
He recalled the horror of watching the buildings collapse on television and knowing that hundreds of comrades were inside.
"We knew it was bad. We didn't know the numbers, but we knew a lot of people just died," Murphy said.
At the service, Ashley Fodor, daughter of Lt. Michael Fodor of Ladder 21, talked about how her father loved telling stories. After he died in the attack, she later lost her mother to breast cancer. She lives in Manhattan now, which makes her feel close to her dad.
"When I walk down the streets I can still hear his voice in my head," she said.
The ceremony was one of many public and private events held nationwide ahead of the anniversary. Here are some of them.
'Hand-in-hand'
At the southern tip of Manhattan, families, friends and strangers clasped hands as a bell clanged at 8:46 a.m. to signify the time the first hijacked plane crashed into the World Trade Center's north tower. The group formed a single-file line that snaked along through an exhibition of American flags, displayed to honor the dead.
Participants wore white T-shirts with light blue image of the towers and the phrase "hand-in-hand, remembering 9/11."
Manhattan resident Dino Fusco brought his two daughters to the event. The 45-year-old father says it was important for them to pay their respects and to learn about the country's history, even when it's sad.
"We lost friends, we felt the loss of the city," he said. "So we don't want to forget. It's important to mark the day."
Silent tribute
Former President George W. Bush paid silent tribute to Sept. 11 victims in a wreath-laying at the Pentagon.
Joined by his wife, Laura, Bush placed a wreath of white flowers by the 9/11 memorial stone embedded in the wall outside Corridor 4. That's near where hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building, killing 184 people.
Also at Saturday's brief ceremony were Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, former Pentagon chief Donald H. Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen.
Obamas pay tribute to war dead
President Barack Obama and first lady Michele Obama visited Arlington National Cemetery where they paid tribute to members of the military killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Obamas made a somber pilgrimage to Section 60 of the cemetery. The White House says that's the burial ground for military personnel killed in those two wars. Those conflicts have claimed 6,213 military personnel.
At one gravesite, the Obamas stopped to talk with members of a family who appeared to be visiting a grave. The Obamas chatted a few minutes, posed for pictures and gave out handshakes and hugs.
Then the Obamas, hand in hand, strolled along one of the rows between identical white tombstones, pausing at some markers.
'Their lives mattered'
They hugged and huddled against the Empty Sky memorial at Jersey City's Liberty State Park in New Jersey.
'It's been 10 Little League seasons, 10 years of women without fathers to walk them down the aisle, 10 years of life for some spouses without their best friend," Gov. Chris Christie told a crowd of family members whose loved ones perished in the attacks.
The memorial, two 30-foot-high rectangular towers that stretch 208 feet, 10 inches long — the exact width of the World Trade Center towers — honors 746 New Jerseyans who perished that tragic day, The Star-Ledger reported.
Family members gathered to the memorial to search for record of their loved one; each New Jersey victim's name is etched in stainless steel.
"Their lives mattered," Christie said. "That's why we built this memorial and that's why we come here today."
NBC New York's Chris Hawley and Colleen Long, The Associated Press, and Reuters contributed to this report.