New York • During years of going to ground zero every Sept. 11, Tom Acquaviva has seen crowds diminish at the ceremonies commemorating the terror attacks. But his determination to participate hasn't.
"As long as I'm breathing, I'll be here," Acquaviva, 81, said Friday as he arrived to pay tribute to his late son, Paul.
More than 1,000 victims' relatives, survivors and recovery workers marked the 14th anniversary at ground zero with grief, gratitude and appeals to keep the toll front of mind as years pass. "It's a hard day. But it's an important day. I'll come every year that I can," recovery worker Robert Matticola said.
But if the private ceremony is smaller than in its early years, the date also has become an occasion for the public to revisit ground zero, where the memorial plaza now opens to everyone on the anniversary.
Around the country, the date was marked with what has become a tradition of lowered flags, wreath-laying, bell-tolling and, in New York, reading the names of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terror strikes at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pa.
Family members praised first responders, thanked the armed forces and prayed for unity and security. They also sent personal messages to their lost loved ones.
"You are the reason that I wear this uniform and stand here today," Air Force Technical Sgt. Sparkle Thompson said of her uncle, Louie Anthony Williams.
In Washington, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama stepped out of the White House for a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., when the first of four hijacked planes hit on Sept. 11, 2001, striking the World Trade Center's north tower. Later Friday, the president told troops at Fort Meade in Maryland that he hoped Sept. 11 would inspire thoughts of what binds the country together.
The Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville marked the completion of its $26 million visitor center, which opened to the public Thursday. At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Ash Carter and other officials joined in remembrances for victims' relatives and Pentagon employees. Other observances were held around the country.
Some Americans honored the anniversary in their own ways.
"I don't go to the memorial. I don't watch it on TV. But I make sure, every year, I observe a moment of silence at 8:46," electrician Jeff Doran said as he stood across the street from the trade center, where the signature, 1,776-foot One World Trade Center tower has opened since last Sept. 11.
The memorial plaza opened in 2011 but was closed to the public on the anniversary until last year, when an estimated 20,000 people flocked there to pay respects in the evening. Moved by the influx, organizers decided to open it more quickly after the ceremony this year.
Some victims' relatives welcome the openness after years when the site was largely off-limits for construction. "It's a little more comfortable for people to be here," said Alexandria Perez, who lost her aunt, Ana Centeno.
But to Erick Jimenez, a brother of 9/11 victim Eliezer Jimenez Jr., "every year, it's a little less personal," though he still appreciates being with others who lost loved ones.
This year's anniversary comes as Congress is weighing whether to start providing financing for the memorial plaza and whether to extend programs that promised billions of dollars in compensation and medical care to Sept. 11 responders and survivors. They are set to expire next year.
"People are still dying because of what happened," both on battlefields and from illnesses that some responders have developed after exposure to toxic dust, Army Sgt. Edwin Morales said as he arrived at ground zero in remembrance of a cousin, firefighter Ruben "Dave" Correa.
Jyothi Shah read names of victims in memory of her husband, Jayesh Shantitlal Shah, then paused with a message for the public.
"My kids and I would like to humbly thank everyone who has helped us, through the last 14 years, to be able to gently go through the sorrows, the suffering, the pain," she said.
President Barack Obama hugs actress and filmmaker Sally Field of Los Angles after presenting her with a 2014 National Medal of Arts, in the East Room of the White House, on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Barack Obama speaks during an event to honor the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the National Humanities Medals in the East Room of the White House, on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Kerby Jean-Raymond's Pyer Moss collection is seen backstage during Fashion Week Thursday, September 10, 2015, in New York. (AP Photo/Bryan R. Smith)
A model is prepared backstage prior to the showing of the Pyer Moss Spril 2016 collection during Fashion Week in New York on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Bryan R. Smith)
A model is prepared backstage prior to the showing of the Pyer Moss Spring 2016 collection during Fashion Week in New York on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Bryan R. Smith)
The Pyer Moss Spring 2016 collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Bryan R. Smith)
The Pyer Moss Spring 2016 collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Bryan R. Smith)
The Pyer Moss Spring 2016 collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Bryan R. Smith)
Models take a selfie backstage prior to modeling the Pyer Moss Spring 2016 collection during Fashion Week in New York on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Bryan R. Smith)
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama pause on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, as they observed a moment of silence to mark the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. (AP/Andrew Harnik)
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama pause on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, as they observed a moment of silence to mark the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. (AP/Andrew Harnik)
President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, and others. pause on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, as they observe a moment of silence to mark the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Ben Wainio, who's daughter Elizabeth Wainio was one of the 40 crew and passengers on United Airlines Flight 93, poses for a photo in front of his daughter's name on the Wall of Names at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa, Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, as the nation marks the 14th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Betsy Wolk of Columbia, Md., left, rests her chin against her husband, Herb Wolk, as they visit the bench dedicated to their son-in-law, Navy Lt. Darin Pontell, Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, at the Pentagon Memorial on the 14th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, and others, pause on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, as they observe a moment of silence to mark the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
White House staff listen as a bugler plays "Taps" during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, with President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama to observe the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Tamir Rivera, of Newark, N.J., pauses to look at the names on the "Empty Sky" memorial to New Jersey's victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks early Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Jersey City, N.J. Victims' relatives began marking the 14th anniversary of Sept. 11 in a subdued gathering Friday at ground zero, with a moment of silence and somber reading of names. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama walk off the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, after they observed the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorists attacks. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Two Emergency Medical Technicians pause to look at the names on the "Empty Sky" memorial to New Jersey's victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks early Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, in Jersey City, N.J. Victims' relatives began marking the 14th anniversary of Sept. 11 in a subdued gathering Friday at ground zero, with a moment of silence and somber reading of names. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, and others, pause on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, as they observe a moment of silence to mark the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama walk off the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, after they observed the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorists attacks. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
A flag is placed along the South Pool prior to a ceremony at the World Trade Center site in New York on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015. With a moment of silence and somber reading of names, victims' relatives began marking the 14th anniversary of Sept. 11 in a subdued gathering Friday at ground zero. (AP Photo/Bryan R. Smith)
Retired New York City firefighter Joseph McCormick visits the South Pool prior to a ceremony at the World Trade Center site in New York on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015. With a moment of silence and somber reading of names, victims' relatives began marking the 14th anniversary of Sept. 11 in a subdued gathering Friday at ground zero. (AP Photo/Bryan R. Smith)
Larry Silverstein, president of Silverstein Properties and lease holder on the World Trade Center, attends a ceremony at the World Trade Center site in New York on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015. With a moment of silence and somber reading of names, victims' relatives began marking the 14th anniversary of Sept. 11 in a subdued gathering Friday at ground zero. (AP Photo/Bryan R. Smith)
A woman holds a photograph during a ceremony at the World Trade Center site in New York on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015. Sept. 11 victims' relatives marked the anniversary of the terror attacks Friday in a subdued gathering at ground zero, saying their determination to commemorate their loss publicly hadn't dimmed even as 14 years have passed and crowds at the ceremony have thinned. (AP Photo/Bryan R. Smith)
From left, former mayors of New York, Rudy Giuliani, Michael Bloomberg and Mayor Bill de Blasio attend a ceremony at the World Trade Center site in New York on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015. Sept. 11 victims' relatives marked the anniversary of the terror attacks Friday in a subdued gathering at ground zero, saying their determination to commemorate their loss publicly hadn't dimmed even as 14 years have passed and crowds at the ceremony have thinned. (AP Photo/Bryan R. Smith)