Prayers and Remembrance

The University of Southern Mississippi marked the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2006, with a commemoration and dedication event at the front entrance of the Hattiesburg, Miss., campus, where this new live oak was planted to replace one of the many fallen trees on the campus.

Members of the One New Orleans Mass Choir sing during the citywide Remembrance, Renewal, Rebirth Service commemorating the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2006.

Americorp volunteer Rose Degele of Michigan looks at the Katrina Memorial sculpture Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2006, at the Town Green in Biloxi, Miss. Degele is part of a group on a 10-month tour on the Gulf Coast. The sculpture, designed by Aaron Kramer is made from recovered objects, donated by Biloxi residents.

Trumpet player Marlon Jordan plays his horn during a memorial in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans to commemorate the victims of Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 29, 2006, the first anniversary of the storm.

Obligher Wegrer, a resident of the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, kneels in prayer in front of a reconstructed canal levee on Aug. 29, 20056, as she remembers her sister and nephew who perished in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina a year ago. Hundreds of residents of the neighborhood came together to remember the floods and destruction left behind after the storm ravaged the region.

Rev. Danny Digal, left, and altar server Alexis Robin, 10, prepare to celebrate a special anniversary mass for the victims of Hurricane Katrina at Our Lady of Prompt Succor Catholic Church in Chalmette, La., on Aug. 29, 2006, the first anniversary of the deadly storm. Chalmette, located 10 miles southeast of New Orleans, was one of the hardest-hit areas by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Friends and relatives of people lost during last year's levee break gathered at New Orleans' 17th Street Canal to toss a wreath into the water during a memorial on the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Aug. 29, 2006. The storm was one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history killing more than 1,800 people.

President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush, foreground, pray during a moment of silence commemorating the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2006.

A woman wipes tears from her eyes as she cries during a prayer vigil to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in Waveland, Miss., on Aug. 29, 2006. The Gulf Coast area is remembering the victims and survivors of the killer storm.

A shrimp boat works its way up the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet on Aug. 29, 2006, sailing past a monument to the people who lost their lives in St. Bernard Parish in Shell Beach, La. One year ago, Hurricane Katrina came ashore and flooded and heavily damaged most of the area.

Paramedic R.L. Shields salutes a vase of roses representing the 14 Gulfport, Miss., residents killed during Hurricane Katrina, at a one-year anniversary memorial service on Aug. 29, 2006. Several hundred people attended the hour-long ceremony in Gulfport.

Rachel Benefield-Pfaff of Gulfport, Miss., plays "Amazing Grace" on her bagpipes in tribute to the survivors and victims of Hurricane Katrina, Aug. 29, 2006. The Port f Gulfport, which used to be filled with commercial and pleasure boats, is in the process of being rebuilt.

Residents of eastern New Orleans hold a candlelight vigil on Aug. 28, 2006. There were 1,600 candles to commemorate those who lost their lives after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina one year ago. The bags with the candles are on the Lake Ponchartrain Levee in eastern New Orleans. The event included the playing of "Amazing Grace," and "Taps."

Megan Baker 3, on New Orleans, looks at the lights during a candlelight ceremony on Aug. 28, 2006. The ceremony was a remembrance of those who lost their lives after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina one year ago.

A young boy attends a candlelight prayer vigil on Aug. 28, 2006, marking the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in Bay St. Louis, Miss. Katrina roared ashore a year ago spreading death and destruction to the Gulf Coast, including 11 Mississippi towns and cities.

People look at a plaque on the site of the new Lower Ninth Ward Memorial in New Orleans on Aug. 27, 2006. A monument honoring Ninth Ward victims of Hurricane Katrina was finished Aug. 26.

James Flythe puts a sign reading "I Am Coming Home" in the window of a monument to people rebuilding their homes after Hurricane Katrina in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans on Aug. 27, 2006. The red wooden frame representing the remains of a home with two chairs on the stoop acknowledges the determination of the people of New Orleans to come back and rebuild their homes in the face of difficult odds.

A woman and her children view the new Lower Ninth Ward Memorial on Aug. 27, 2006, in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. The monument features the facade of a house and poles that symbolize the high water levels that flooded the area.

John Clark, of Arabi, La., sobs during a memorial service on Aug. 20, 2006, at St. Anna's Episcopal Church in New Orleans. The service was for pets that died in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Clark lost his dog Katie-Raz when she went into respiratory failure in the place where they evacuated for the storm.