♪ hello and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. one year ago today it happened again. terror strikes, only this time it was in boston, the boston marathon turn going a scene of chaos and terror. right now the city of boston is pausing paying tribute to the victims and survivors of the bombings. today the people of boston standing strong, stopping, just briefly before getting ready for this year's race. that's when the people will be

running through the streets of their city once again. john set the scene for us in boston right now. >> good afternoon, del, well, the weather here is typical of [ inaudible ] in the city. it has been raining for most of the morning. the sun is trying to shine at the same time, and encapsulates the mood of the city and the people of boston. they are trying to get over it. they are trying to put it all behind them, and they are looking forward so much to the 118th marathon coming up on them. what is happening here at the john heinz convention center on boyle street a little bit further down the road from where the finish line is, the

convention center is being filled with people from boston, many of them survivors of the bombing a year ago, many of them with prosthetics. they are surrounded by their families today. there is a lot of love from them and everybody in the city. and the guest of honor twofold. the governor -- deval patrick, and vice president joe biden is in the city as well. here to represent the obama administration and the american people. and he too will be speaking. we heard within the last hour or so from the white house which

put out a statement remembering those who lost their lives, and president obama talked about being in awe how the whole country -- if not the whole world is in awe every time we see one of these victims of which there were 260 after last year's bombings, walk or dance again on their new limbs. those are the words that president obama's press statement issued within the last 90 minutes or so. today the auditorium is going to be packed for a service that will be mostly musical, but also have time to reflect. we'll also hear from some of the survivors who will talk and give us their thoughts one year on. and then the events in boston continue outside the heinz

convention center, between 2:00 and 2:30 there will be a flag raising ceremony. and at 2:49 there will be a moment of silence here in boston, around the country and the world as we remember the people who died and were injured. del? >> i know you usually bring your orchestra with you, but that is the sound of the boston pops that is playing in the background. but also, john, as we await, what type of security are you seeing there this year? >> yeah, just a word about the boston pops, i mean, such a fine orchestra. the boston pops turn out whenever they want more of a family occasion, which this sort of is, and they are playing that tune by john williams to get the service up and running today.

security is extremely tight. we have been in the city for the best part of the last week, and you have seen security officers in places you wouldn't normally in boston. but it's all building up to the appearance of the governor and the vice president and the families and guests. now according to the massachusetts emergency management agency, there will be about 3500 police officers en route in the seven towns that build up to the finish line here in the city of boston. and according to the new city police commissioner, who has only recently been appointed by the new major, he had staff to call on, all leave has been canceled next monday. so they will be available should they need that. there will be enhanced closed circuit television coverage, and

there have been trainings of the officers to look at the crowd intently and not pay attention to the race itself. they want to see what is going on in the restaurant ks of the people who turn out to support the runners. and there will be many, many more plain clothes officers than ever before. but it's in the back of everybody's mind including the police commissioner that this is a 26.2-mile route. you can't possibly police every inch of it, though they are going to give it their very, very best shot. and they are hoping for a normal race on monday a race that begins, ends, and has a winner, and has lots of happy people enjoying the day. >> john as we await the ceremonies to begin, please stand by. erika pitzi when we talk about boston strong in our news room,

we talk about erika pitzi, boston bosh and raised. tell us what this day means. >> this is definitely one of those really reverent times right now where people are feeling the heaviness. just to put this more in perspective, patriot's day is something that massachusetts celebrates. and it was always not so much patriot's day but it was known as marathon monday. which is why the marathon didn't today. obviously we are looking back a year later. but it fell on patriot's day last year, and next monday everyone has the day off. most people are somewhere along that marathon route, and i certainly was growing up. i mean we went every year. it starts in the suburbs and goes all the way in to downtown boston. i did want to point out exactly where this memorial is takes

place. the convention center is literally steps away. you are talking about 1.5 blocks from where the second bomb went off. so really the locations of where a lot of these tributes are happening is right along the boylston street, which is the finish line. >> you went back to boston ahead of today's ceremonies, and what you saw was a reminder that in the days after weeks after the bombing there was an outpouring of support from the people of boston, and specifically you went to one location. >> absolutely. anywhere along the finish line, certainly towards the end there, you can see makeshift memorials popping up. people laying down flowers, teddy bears candles, and it soon came to pass that there was one area where they were just building up so many different things.

red sox t-shirts, baseball caps, and even running shoes that were starting to be placed down to honor the people that were lost and who were injured. we're talking about hundreds of people here. so there was one local curator that took a look at the thousands of things piling up, and decided to preserve that memorial, bring it inside the boston public library, where the main location is again, right at the finish line, and we decided to take you through, along with a survivor at her side seeing this for the first time. take a look. ♪ >> dear boston -- >> every day i run for the victims thair families. >> may we never forget. >> together we are one. >> we will get through this. >> peace and love. >> boston strong. >> so many notes and the words are just -- they get you the

most. >> reporter: until now jackie webb has never seen the makeshift memorial that multiplies along boylston street in boston. she was watching the boston marathon when the second pressure cooker bomb exploded just a few feet away from her. >> i remember the blinding light. i remember everything going pitch black and a lot of suit and the smell, it just smelled like sulfur. >> reporter: she was in such shock she did not realize how badly hurt she was until she sat down on the sidewalk with a paramedic. >> that's when i noticed that my leg was severely injured and that it was pretty much blown open. >> shrapnel tore through his right leg. self-surgeries later, she can walk through the library and observe the memorial in this exhibit. >> to all of the victims who's lives are forever changed boston

is with you, boston loves you, boston strong. >> reporter: when the makeshift memorial was along the finish line one object set it apart from other memorials. running shoes, and lots of them. marathoners placed nearly 600 pairs in remembrance, and while there are only about 150 on display here, they are front and center, a heart felt show of solidarity. >> there are a size women's 5, and then there are men's 13 shoes that were left. >> reporter: the shoes inspired the curator to turn the outdoor memorial into an indoor exhibition. >> after the bombing they get this extra layer of meaning that was about what it meant for marathoners that day. sometimes they are messaging of mourning, and sometimes mess ages of relilence. >> reporter: runners tend to save their sneakers for themselves as a memento from the

marathon. >> for them to put them down here, that's impactful, because you know that they gave up something that is sacred to them, essentially for people that they don't even know. >> reporter: virtually everything here is a way for perfect strangers to communicate with survivors like jackie. >> strangers. i know. i know. it's overwhelming. >> one year later, and the memorial carries on the conversation. jackie is still recovering emotionally and physically. >> i still have surgeries still in pain. >> despite the pain, she says the love behind this simple salation goes a long way in helping her to heal. >> this community and the people in it with just overwhelming amount of support, and that was what we needed. and they really rallied behind us and gave us strength to go

on. >> boston strong right there, the exhibit runs through may 11th, and i have to say, del, even though you got to see a little bit there, you have to see it in person. >> i never get tired of seeing that piece. and your family members were caught up in the lockdown? >> yes, the manhunt ended in watertown, and i have family all over, and my cousin was in the area of the lockdown with his wife and small child. it was a scary time, and i think looking back now, so much has changed and really brought so many different communities together. boston strong we state a lot, but this is a real thing. >> this time you're going to be working for al jazeera when you go back. >> yes. >> they are taking a noement look back, pause, and reflect on that day. the boston marathon bombing

anniversary one year later. we're going to take a break, and we will be right back.

♪ this is boston, one year after the boston marathon bombings. that is the boston pops. i'm going to pause for just a moment to let you listen to them and not to me. ♪

>> that is the music composed by the legendary conductor john williams. our john terrett is in boston right now. john what are the thoughts and feelings of the people up there on this day? >> well, that's a very, very timely question, del, and we have met several of the survivors of last year's boston bombing in the course of the last week, and they all say the same thing. they just want to get the day out of the way. way. it's a landmark day for the city and think victims. i think they feel their lives have been on hold, and many have been altered dramatically. but i think most of them just want to get to this ceremony that we are witnessing on, and then to put it behind them and

get on with their lives. many of the people are surrounded by their friends and family. so it's a very, very important day in the luf -- life of the city and the victim. we met a victim last week named heather abbott, and she has an extrordanaire story, and will be told tonight at 8:00 on the john siegenthaler program. so make sure you tune in at 8:00 and meet heather. because she was standing outside the restaurant waiting to have lunch. she had come to boston as she always does to be at the red sox game here at fenway. she was about to go into the forum when the second backpack exploded. and she was catapulted through

the open door and into the restaurant. now 12 months down the road she is thriving. she has four prosthetic legs including one that has an arched foot on it allowing her to wear her favorite 4-inch heels. soen -- but she, i think, still has a long way to go. there are moments that sadness crosses her face. but in her case she has a terrific support network, great family and friends who are there for her. >> and these children are the boston chorus. we talked to a reporter from the boston globe, and he said for the people of the city this will end after today.

that it has been one long continuous year, but in order for boston to get back to normal, this has to be something they look back on, remember, and respect, but they do move on. is that the sense that you get? >> absolutely, that was very, very beautifully put. that is exactly the sense that we're putting here. and that's why the weather has wrapped up in to the sense of the day. it's very rainy and cold, yet the sun is trying to shine. so will is a message in the weather. boston is a hard scramble, irish, you know, blue collar community, with a thriving arts community, and wonderful educational institutions. it's a major city in the northeast. they have had 117 of these marathons until this happened last year. that is the longest-running marathon in the world. and they want to put it behind

them, that's absolutely right. but today will mark the beginning of the end in that process. they will never forget the dead or the injured. but the next deadline will be monday. if they can pull monday off and the marathon goes like any other marathon, then they will be happy. >> john, we are looking at the boston children's chorus, getting ready to perform. i want to listen to this just a moment. i'm going to talk to you on the backside here. that of course is vice president

biden, and his wife dr. jill biden, the governor of massachusetts, deval patrick, and his wife. they are pausing to allow them to enter. as you were pointing out erika pitzi that the fact that he on the day of this bombing left his hospital bed was a signal of what they refer to as boston strong. [ applause ] >> but i'll let you talk about that on the backside. let's listen to the children's choir just for a second. ♪

[ applause ] >> that is the director of the boston pops, keith lockhart,

most of us have to wait until july 4th to hear this type of music. >> that's true. also when i was a kid they did christmas with the pops, so my family and i would go into town and listen to the pops play christmas tunes. >> today it seems appropriate, "america the beautiful." ♪ ♪ oh, beautiful for spacious

skies ♪ ♪ for amber waves of grain >> and we are having problems with our signal. we apologize for that. it is back now. ♪ majesty above the fruited plains ♪ ♪ america, america god shed his grace on thee ♪ ♪ and crowned thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea ♪

♪ oh beautiful for patriot dr m dreams that go beyond the years ♪ ♪ from alabaster city stream ♪ america, america ♪

[ applause ] >> that is the voice of renese king. you might have seen her on stage at carnegie hall. erika pitzi i was thinking back to the days following the september 11th attacks. and as a news anchor in washington there wasn't a time when i heard america the beautiful or any other patriotic song being played that it didn't bring tears to your eyes, and i'm wondering as a native of boston, your emotions on this day? >> yeah, it's a lot. we talk about the heaviness of what this day means, and as someone who was here last year, i covered this as soon as i heard about it. i have friends running in the marathon, everybody knows somebody. and i was working in new york

and went straight up to boston, and it's a difficult thing to hear. >> this is liz walker. let's listen in. >> there is a rising. there is no way to walk down boylston street without thinking about the evil spilling of precious blood, the hateful strike on a world treasure, but we are also reminded of the amazing capacity of the human spirit to rise in heroism, compassion and sacrifice. a -- year has passed so quickly, and many wounds are yet to heal, but this city we love has grown stronger. there have been hard lessons along the way. grief is that uneasy perch where the heart is forced to rest. with no escape, no bridge, no

door, just one way through. time. rooted in pain, but winged on hope. there is a rising and extension of the human spirit, left to its own devices, it's divine design, it will rise. despite anything, despite everything. they are painful steps to take, but we are taking them. and we are learning again to walk without fainting, to run without growing weary, and some have even learned to dance, soaring on wings like eagles. there is a rising, a new season, another race, another beginning. we are humbled by what we have