By ELLEN WULFHORST
At Ground Zero, mourners took flowers from the stage and handed them to New York City firefighters, who placed the purple and yellow blooms on top of the heaps of rubble.
The firefighters then laid fragments of the rubble in the mourners' outstretched hands.
The gesture at the site of the fallen World Trade Center towers was part of a memorial service yesterday for thousands who lost loved ones in the September 11 attacks.
Recovery work halted and tears flowed as the mourners sat metres away from where up to 4500 people lost their lives.
At a private ceremony later, relatives were given wooden urns containing ashes from the centre.
Fewer than 500 bodies have been identified, and for many the urns will be all they will have to bury.
Police said 9200 people attended the service, for family members only.
"My daughter is out there someplace," said Cathy Mazzotta, mother of 23-year-old Jennifer Mazzotta who worked for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 101st floor of Tower One. "This is the last place she's been, so it makes me feel good."
Tenor Andrea Bocelli brought tears to many eyes with Ave Maria, as did violinist Ilya Gringolts, who played a traditional Yiddish piece, Raisins and Almonds, and the Metropolitan Opera's Renee Fleming, who sang God Bless America.
The ruins of buildings still standing around the site formed a haunting backdrop, with their blackened walls and mangled girders a jarring contrast to the music and prayers.
"We come here today to hold those who hurt so much, to help those who need so much and to heal those who cry so much," said Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, a fire department chaplain.
Police chaplin Imam Izak-El Mu'eed Pasha said: "Guide us to better days. In pursuit of justice, let us not hate ...
"Let us be the best human beings we can be, and not let those who would do these things turn us against one another."
Despite the bright, cloudless day and workers' efforts to dampen the rubble with powerful hoses, the sky was hazy from the cloud of ash and dust that still pours from the ruins.
And the bitter scent of the destruction, which has become a familiar odour in the city, caused many to wear facemasks.
Recovery work came to a halt for the hour-long service, the second time it has ceased since the towers were felled by two hijacked passenger planes on September 11.
The first time was when workers paused to mark the one-month anniversary of the attacks with a moment's silence.
At the service, few people seemed able to keep their composure, and a handful of distraught mourners had to be led away.
Many clutched snapshots of loved ones tightly, while others held larger portraits over their heads, swaying gently to the music. One woman held up a photo of a smiling family in one hand and a photo of a tiny infant in the other.
Pat Hannafin, who attended the service in memory of his brother Tom, a firefighter, said it had been a comfort when his brother's body was found and could be buried.
"That's the only consolation. I don't know how the other families are going through it."
Chris Hasson wore a shirt printed with the words: "In loving memory of my brother Joe."
Joe Hasson worked for Cantor Fitzgerald and left a 3-month-old son.
"It's just good to be around other people that know what you're going through right now," Chris Hasson said of the service.
Petrolina Joseph sobbed as she recounted how her son Fitzroy St Rose called to say he was trapped on the 83rd floor of one tower.
Asked if it was any consolation to be with other families who were grieving, she simply shook her head and said "No".
- REUTERS
Story archives:
Links: Terror in America - the Sept 11 attacks
Timeline: Major events since the Sept 11 attacks
Families' tears water ashes at Ground Zero
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