New York (CNN) -- Six picture frames hang inside a firehouse in Manhattan, each displaying a photograph of a man who died in the aftermath of the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history. "We always say never forget," said one firefighter from New York's Engine 23. The grizzled middle-aged man, who did not want to share his name, said President Barack Obama's visit to New York was an acknowledgement of "what we're going through." After nearly a decade of war prompted by the horrific events of September 11, 2001, the president traveled to Manhattan Thursday to meet with 9/11 survivors and lay a wreath at ground zero, four days after the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
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NEW: Obama follows tradition of other presidents with a personal appearance
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Obama met a 14-year-old girl who wrote him a letter about the loss of her father
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President Barack Obama went to New York to meet with 9/11 survivors
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The trip comes four days after a U.S. Navy SEAL team killed Osama bin Laden
Behind the president's security detail -- a small army of secret service members clad in dark suits and sunglasses -- camera-wielding tourists and news crews snapped images of the motorcade as it rumbled through @placeholder, and later of Obama's meeting with the friends and family members of those killed during the attacks.