9/11 families to Obama: 'Thank you for doing what you promised'
Handshakes and hugs marked Obama's visit to ground zero on Thursday. His post-Bin Laden meeting with families who lost loved ones on 9/11 gave some comfort, said several attendees.
President Barack Obama pauses after laying a wreath at the National Sept. 11 Memorial at Ground Zero in New York, on Thursday, May 5.
Charles Dharapak/AP
New York
President Obama’s visit to ground zero on Thursday was all about handshakes and hugs – not high fives to celebrate the death of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, an architect of the 9/11 terrorism attack.
It had its poignant moments, such as the president's meeting with young Payton Wall of Rumson, N.J., who lost her father, Glen, on that September day and then wrote Mr. Obama to tell him how she has handled the loss.
It had some symbolism – Obama laying a red, white, and blue wreath at the foot of the “Survivor Tree” originally planted at the World Trade Center site in the 1970s. It was rescued from the smoldering ruins of the site and nursed back to health.
IN PICTURES: Obama at ground zero
There was also plenty of patriotism – the Star Spangled Banner hanging from construction cranes at ground zero, flag-waving New Yorkers outside the site.
But most important, the event seemed to provide some comfort to the families of those who lost loved ones on 9/11.
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