NEW YORK (AP) — As presidential candidates look on, some are 9/11 Relatives of the victims appealed for accountability on Wednesday as the US marked an anniversary laced with election politics.

In a remarkable scene, President Joe Biden, former president donald trump And Vice President Kamala Harris stood together at Ground Zero, just hours after Trump and Harris faced off in their very first debateTrump and Biden — the successor whose inauguration Trump skipped — shook hands, and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared to facilitate a handshake between Harris and Trump.

Then the presidential rivals stood just a few feet apart, Biden and Bloomberg between them, as the commemoration began with the tolling of a bell and a moment of silence. At Trump’s side was his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance.

The image showed how politics was momentarily set aside during a solemn commemoration of the hijacked plane attacks of September 11, 2001, which killed nearly 3,000 people. For years, politicians were mere spectators at the Ground Zero commemorations. The microphones were instead for family members, who read out the names of the victims.

A number of these readers took the opportunity on Wednesday to deliver their own political message.

“We are begging for your help, but you are ignoring us,” said Allison Walsh-DiMarzio, directly challenging Trump and Harris to pressure Saudi Arabia over any potential Involvement of Saudi authorities in the attacks. Most of the 19 hijackers were Saudis, but the kingdom denies involvement of senior Saudi officials.

“Who among you will have the courage to be our hero? We deserve better,” said Walsh-DiMarzio, the daughter of 9/11 victim Barbara P. Walsh, an administrative assistant.

Joanne Barbara was one of many readers who spoke out against a now-withdrawn to plead deal struck by military prosecutors with alleged mastermind behind 9/11 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants.

“It’s been 23 years and the families deserve justice and accountability,” said the widow of Assistant Fire Chief Gerard Barbara.

Bidenon September 11, 2001, the last day of his term and likely his half-century political career, later accompanied Harris to ceremonies in Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon, the other two sites where commercial airliners crashed after being captured by al-Qaeda members.

Trump and Vance headed from the ceremony at the World Trade Center to a fire station in New York City. Trump was also expected later Wednesday at the Flight 93 National Memorial near rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where one of the planes crashed after crew members and passengers tried to wrest control from hijackers. The names of the dead were read aloud there Wednesday morning, and family members of the victims spoke briefly.

The attacks killed 2,977 people and left thousands of survivors and scars. The planes brought down the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and cut a gash in the Pentagon, the U.S. military headquarters, where an American flag was unfurled in tribute on Wednesday morning.

While it may seem like many Americans no longer remember 9/11, “the men and women of the Department of Defense still remember,” said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

The attacks have changed U.S. foreign policy, domestic security practices, and the mindset of many Americans who previously did not feel vulnerable to attacks from foreign extremists.

The effects were felt around the world and across generations as the US responded by leading a “ Global War on Terrorism“including invasions of Afghanistan And IraqThese operations killed hundreds of thousands of Afghans and Iraqis and thousands of American troops.

Communities across the country hold their own 9/11 commemorations. Volunteer projects also mark the anniversary, which Congress has designated both Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

During the first commemorations at Ground Zero, presidents and other officials read poems, portions of the Declaration of Independence, and other texts.

But the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum decided in 2012 to limit the ceremony to family members who read names of victims.

If politicians “care about what’s actually happening, fine. Be here,” Korryn Bishop said as she arrived to watch Wednesday’s ceremony.

“If they’re just here for political influence, that bothers me,” added Bishop, who lost her cousin John F. McDowell Jr., who worked in finance.

Brandon Jones was glad there were no politicians on stage.

“This should be a place to come together and find viable solutions and peace. This should not be a place to score political points to get brownie points to take on your constituents,” said Jones, a nephew of victim Jon Richard Grabowski, an insurance company technology executive.

In 2008, then-senators and presidential campaign rivals John McCain And Barack Obama paid tribute at Ground Zero, which was still an open mine.

The anniversary became a charged part of the 2016 presidential campaign. The Democratic nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, abruptly left the trade center ceremonytripped while waiting for her motorcade and later revealed that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia. The episode attracted new attention for her health, which her Republican opponent – Trump, who also attended the commemoration – had had doubts about for months.

Over the years, some family members who read out the names of victims have used the forum to complaining about the divisions among Americanscalling on leaders to prioritize national security, recognize the victims of the war on terror, complain that officials are politicizing 9/11 and even criticize individual office bearersOthers call for peace.

“I pray that this evil act called terrorism will never happen again,” Jacob Afuakwah said Wednesday, who lost his brother, Emmanuel Akwasi Afuakwah, a restaurant worker.

But most of them stick to tributes and personal reflections. Increasingly, they come from children and young adults who born after the attacks one of their relatives was murdered.

Thirteen-year-old twins Brady and Emily Henry have never met their uncle, firefighter Joseph Patrick Henry.

“We promise to keep telling your stories,” Emily said, “and we will never let anyone forget all those victims of 9/11.”

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Contributors included Associated Press journalists Julie Walker, Adriana Gomez Licon in New York and Tara Copp in Washington, and Bruce Shipkowski in Toms River, New Jersey.