Grieving Poland Goes Still

Thousands of people in the streets of Poland's cities are standing rigid and silent, marking two minutes of silent memorial to a devastating plane crash that killed many of the country's elite, including President Lech Kaczynski. The silence was preceded by the thundering pealing of church bells and din of emergency sirens for nearly a minute before everything faded into utter silence. At the Field Cathedral of the Polish Army, hundreds gathered for Sunday morning Mass and left flowers, written condolences and black ribbons outside.

Among the dead a day earlier were Poland's army chief of staff, the navy chief commander, and heads of the air and land forces, who were all making the emotional trip to honor the Polish officers slain by the Soviet secret police in 1940. Poland's Foreign Ministry said today that the bodies of Kaczynski and his wife were expected in Warsaw by early afternoon. (More Poland stories.)