NEW YORK -- In a year when the coronavirus pandemic has reshaped countless American rituals, even today's commemoration of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks could not escape unchanged.
The 19th anniversary of the terror attacks will be marked by dueling ceremonies at the 9/11 memorial plaza and a corner near the World Trade Center, reflecting a divide over the memorial's decision to suspend a cherished tradition of relatives reading victims' names in person.
Vice President Mike Pence is expected at both those remembrances in New York, while President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden plan to go to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania.
In New York, the double beams of light that evoke the fallen twin towers were nearly canceled in the name of virus safety, until an uproar restored the tribute. The Fire Department has cited the virus in urging members to skip observances of the 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, among them almost 350 firefighters.
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Some victims' relatives say they understand the ground zero observance had to change in a year when so much else has. Others fear the pandemic is making plain what they have feared was happening unspoken: that the commitment to "Never Forget" is fading.
"It's another smack in the face," said Jim Riches, who lost his son Jimmy, a firefighter.
Riches is staying home on the anniversary for the first time this year because he doesn't want to take chances with the coronavirus after an illness. But he feels others should have the option of reciting the names of the dead on the memorial plaza, instead of listening to a recording.
Memorial leaders said they wanted to avoid close contact among readers, who are usually paired at the podium. But to Riches, a retired fire battalion chief and frequent critic of the memorial organization, the decision sounds like an excuse for sidelining the families' role in commemorating 9/11.
"I wish they wouldn't forget, but they're trying to," he said.
But Anthoula Katsimatides sees the differences this year as an effort to ensure victims' relatives feel comfortable attending -- including her mother, who hasn't left home since March because health issues make her especially worried about the virus. But she is determined to go in honor of her son John, a bond trader, her daughter said.
While many events have been called off, "this wasn't canceled. It's just been changed in such a way where we still get to pay tribute to our loved ones in a respectful and safe way," said Katsimatides, who's on the memorial board. She says the change wasn't motivated by anything except a public-health emergency.
"Who expected covid-19? ... It was completely unforeseen. As was 9/11," she said.
This year's plans have been a balancing act at the sites where hijacked planes piloted by al-Qaida terrorists crashed: New York City, the Pentagon in Washington and a field near Shanksville, Pa.
The Flight 93 memorial near Shanksville is trimming its usual 90-minute ceremony, partly by eliminating musical interludes. Memorial spokeswoman Katherine Cordek said victims' names would be read, but by one person instead of several family members.
Military leaders will conduct the Pentagon's ceremony without victims' families in attendance, and their loved ones' names will be recited by a recording, rather than readers on-site. Victims' relatives can visit the Pentagon's memorial in small groups later today.
In New York, leaders of the National Sept. 11 Memorial & Museum said their plan for a no-reading ceremony would honor both virus precautions and 9/11 families' attachment to being at ground zero on the anniversary.
But another 9/11-related organization, the Stephen Stiller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, quickly arranged its own simultaneous ceremony a few blocks away, saying victims' relatives could recite names while keeping a safe distance.
"We need to keep letting America know what happened 19 years ago. And they need to see that emotion of the day, not a recording," said chairman Frank Siller. He said he may attend both observances to honor the brother he lost -- Stephen, a firefighter.
Debra Epps has been to the ground zero ceremony every year. She said it means a lot to her to read names and add a few words in tribute to her brother Christopher, an accountant.
Still, she thinks the memorial was right to forgo the live name-reading this year. The virus has her concerned enough that she's not planning to attend.
"It really is a hard decision to make, but I know that we're still in this pandemic," said Epps, who works in health care.
"I will remember my brother, no matter what," she said.
