Honoring Terror's Victims and Supporting the Troops
By GLEN JUSTICE and JOHN FILES
Published: September 12, 2005
WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 - Striding behind a military color guard, thousands of marchers cut a broad swath through the capital on Sunday in a walk organized by the Defense Department to commemorate the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and to support American troops.
Most of the marchers began at the Pentagon, not far from where a hijacked American Airlines plane slammed into the building four years ago. A far more intimate crowd of about 350 began walking at a memorial ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery, where many of the victims are buried.
The two groups observed a moment of silence at 9:37 a.m., the time of the crash, before starting the march, with many wearing the free commemorative T-shirts and military-style dog tags the organizers provided to participants. The columns of marchers converged on the Virginia side of Memorial Bridge, walked across it into Washington and strode onto the National Mall, where they ate picnic lunches as the country music singer Clint Black wound through a patriotic set.
"This is a special day, a day of remembrance, of tribute," Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld told the crowd. "This is the first march for freedom. Looking at the size of this crowd, I suspect it won't be the last."
The event was criticized by opponents of the Iraq war as a flag-waving exercise orchestrated by the Bush administration at a time when public opinion over the war is deeply divided. The Washington Post withdrew as a sponsor of the walk last month, citing its need to maintain objectivity. Other sponsors included The Washington Times and WTOP radio in Washington.
"Today's so-called Freedom Walk sponsored by the Pentagon is a cynical exercise in an effort to shore up sagging support for the president and his war policy in Iraq," said Brian Becker, the national coordinator for a group called Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, which is organizing a large antiwar demonstration here on Sept. 24.
Pentagon officials said Sunday's walk was simply a commemorative event.
"Unfortunately, some people think it's something that it's not," said Bryan G. Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said last week. "But we understand that perspective. You have a different perspective when you were sitting in the building that day."
More than 15,000 people registered online to participate in the walk. Pentagon officials could not say how many showed up in 80-degree weather to complete the 1.7 miles, though it was clear that there were several thousand people.
Some participants had friends and relatives who are serving in Iraq or who were killed when Flight 77 crashed, and came bearing pictures and memorabilia. Others worked for the government, and were encouraged by their bosses to attend.
Carlos M. Gutierrez, the secretary of commerce, and Jim Nicholson, the secretary of Veterans Affairs, both issued statements urging employees to take part in the walk.
"I strongly encourage all commerce employees to join together in support of our country and the brave men and women who defend it," said Mr. Gutierrez in an e-mail and telephone message to employees.
At the cemetery, Mr. Rumsfeld gave a somber speech, commemorating those who have died and calling for renewed vigor in the battle against terrorism. "We did not begin the war on terror, but we will win it," he said. Later, the mood lightened considerably as the secretary, sweating in charcoal pinstripes, was mobbed by supporters on his way across the Memorial Bridge. His staff and bodyguards struggled to accommodate the crush of well-wishers and picture takers that threatened to halt his progress altogether.
War protesters were in short supply. When two did appear along Mr. Rumsfeld's path, one carrying a sign saying, "Bush is a Liar," an aide accompanying Mr. Rumsfeld, Allison Barber, encouraged walkers to begin chanting "U.S.A." The chant was short-lived.
Earlier in the day, several protesters appeared to run into trouble with the large police presence at the Pentagon and along the route. One man who registered for the walk was detained by a Pentagon police officer after he slipped a black hood over his head and produced a sign that read, "Freedom?"
The man was removed from the Pentagon registration area, handcuffed and taken away in a police car. It was not clear whether he was charged or simply detained and the police did not respond to messages requesting more information.
Ann Grossman, 56, from Silver Spring, Md., also carried a homemade sign, which read "Honor Our Troops, Respect Their Lives," that was confiscated by police at the Pentagon. Ms. Grossman registered to participate in the walk, saying she did so to voice her opposition to the Iraq war, and she was allowed to participate without the sign.
"I am totally against this administration and totally against this war," Ms. Grossman said.