Thousands show support at Pentagon Unity Walk

Unity walkers raised $50,000 in relief funds.

By Laura Dickson
CNN

ARLINGTON, Virginia (CNN) -- An estimated 2,500 people turned out Saturday near the site of the recent Pentagon attack to show solidarity for those affected by the terrorist attacks.

For many participants, this was the first time they had come to see the site where the Pentagon was hit by a hijacked airplane on September 11.

Families came with their children and dogs and walked together proudly displaying American flags and singing "God Bless America."

The walk started at the Pentagon City shopping mall and went past a make-shift memorial, full of flowers and U.S. flags, near the Pentagon crash site.

The Unity Walk, which was hosted by eight radio stations in metro Washington, D.C., raised $50,000 in relief funds for those affected by the attacks on the Pentagon and New York, said event organizer Bennett Zier.

Rep. Jim Moran, whose district includes the Pentagon area, was on hand for the event.

"We will get the perpetrators of the aggression and we'll show that we're together and that we're whole," the Virginia Democrat told the crowd.

"We've got to get our economy back on its feet again and we're going to show that freedom and democracy will prevail."

D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton attended the event as well.

"We are determined in our resistance to global terrorism and we are unified in our determination to get our country and our economy back to normal. We will not be set back by this," she said.