On the eve of the Veterans Day parade, the 9/11 memorial at the World Trade Center staged a special gesture of honor: veterans tying yellow ribbons to a tree that survived the terror attack.
More than 100 ribbons were distributed at the Saturday morning ceremony. A wreath was laid near the tree, which thrives more than a decade after it emerged from the smoking rubble.
Standing for a moment of silence were veterans of wars from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as active service members and Joe Daniels, president of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
They heard a violist playing “Amazing Grace” as ribbons were wrapped around the branches of the “survivor tree.”
On Sunday, New York will honor veterans with a parade up Fifth Avenue.