Pentagon chief visiting 9/11 sites in NY, Pa.

    Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is getting an early start on Sept. 11 commemorations today, travelling to both ground zero in New York and to the United Flight 93 crash site in Shanksville, Pa.

    The visits kick off a series of 9/11-related events for Panetta to help mark the 10th anniversary of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, including 184 at the Pentagon.

    In New York, Panetta will tour the National September 11 Memorial, whose two reflecting pools sit within the footprints where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood.

    In Shanksville he will visit the partially completed Flight 93 Memorial.

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