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Military families remember 9/11 attack at the Pentagon
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A military chorus sings during a memorial service at the Pentagon September 11, 2011 in Arlington, Virginia. Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta, Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Admiral Mike Mullen and others will attend the service at the Pentagon Memorial to commemorate the 10th anniversary the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.
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Vanessa and Jose Calderon Jr. Their dad was killed at Pentagon on September 11, 2001.
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Kitty Felde/KPCC
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The U.S. military honored its own Sunday morning with a ceremony at the Pentagon commemorating those who died and speeches praising a “stronger and safer” America.
"We pledge to never forget the enemy who made this happen, why we fight them," said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. "And why we will never stop fighting them."
Vice President Joe Biden said over two million Americans have enlisted in the US armed services since 9/11. But he lowered his voice to almost a whisper, telling families he knew that “God-awful empty feeling” of losing a loved one.
"You’re living proof," the vice president said, "to those people who are still scrambling and looking for that hope that it’s possible."
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Vanessa Calderon was 10 years old on 9/11, but remembers the good times with her dad, Army Sergeant First Class Jose Calderon. He was killed on September 11th when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon.
Among the strongest memories, she said. were of "him coming home and playing with me or taking me to Chuck E. Cheese."
Many families said the most moving part of the ceremony came when 184 uniformed service members marched single file to the memorial park. There they placed wreaths on the 184 stone benches named for each of person who died in the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon.
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