NEW YORK, Sept 11: John McCain and Barack Obama declared a truce on Thursday in their rancorous White House campaign, joining Ground Zero ceremonies on the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

And in a sombre ceremony outside the Pentagon in Washington, President George W. Bush inaugurated the first major Sept 11 memorial.

A moment of silence opened ceremonies at the site of the giant pit where the World Trade Centre towers once stood, followed by the reading of almost 3,000 victims’ names.

Choking on tears, victims’ relatives read out names of the dead. A string quartet, alternating with a classical guitar and flute, played mournfully in the background.

Patriotic sentiments provided a rare moment of unity in a country less than two months from the end of an increasingly divisive presidential race.McCain and Obama suspended political advertisements. However, statements issued by the two failed to steer entirely clear of political spin.

Obama called 9/11 the day “Americans across our great country came together to stand with the families of the victims” and said: “Let us renew that spirit of service and that sense of common purpose.”

However, the Democratic candidate pointedly referred to Republican President George W. Bush’s failure to make good on a promise soon after 9/11 to apprehend Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

McCain paid tribute to those on United Flight 93, who assaulted their hijackers over Pennsylvania and crashed the plane before it could reach its target — speculated to have been the seat of the US Congress in Washington.

The Republican candidate clearly meant to underline his own biography as a Vietnam war veteran and PoW, one of his strongest selling points against his younger challenger.

At Ground Zero, survivors, who wore white ribbons pinned to their chests, often broke off to add brief tributes as they read the names of dead relatives. One fought to control himself as he condemned the “cowardly men” who killed his loved one.

A woman managed a smile as she called to her deceased husband Chuck, saying: “Until we meet again may God hold you in the palm of his hands.”

At the Pentagon, thousands joined Bush and US Defence Secretary Robert Gates to dedicate the first September 11 memorial.

“Seven years ago at this hour a doomed airliner plunged from the sky, split the rock and steel of this building and changed our world forever,” Bush said.

“The years that followed have seen justice delivered to evil men in battles fought in distant lands.”

To the accompaniment of choral music, military members in dress uniform unveiled the 184 granite-and-steel benches in the memorial park that represent each of the victims killed by the attack on the Pentagon.

“Since 9/11, our troops have taken the fight to the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home,” said Bush. “Thanks to the brave men and women, and all those who work to keep us safe, there has not been another attack on our soil in 2,557 days,” he said to applause.

The memorial, by New York designers Julie Beckman and Keith Kaseman, also features maple trees and light pools in a park of gravel. The benches are arranged according to the victims’ ages.—Agencies