9/11 at 25: America Remembers the Fallen, Honors Their Legacy

Shibbir Ahmed, New York — The National September 11 Memorial & Museum will mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks with its annual commemoration ceremony in Lower Manhattan, bringing together victims’ families to remember the nearly 3,000 people killed in the 2001 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Family members will read aloud the names of the 2,983 men, women and children who lost their lives in the two attacks during the ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial. This year’s ceremony will include a new moment of silence honoring people who have died from illnesses or injuries linked to the September 11 attacks and their aftermath.

Seven moments of silence will be observed during the commemoration. They will mark the moments when the World Trade Center towers were struck and collapsed, as well as the attacks on the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93. The additional moment of silence will follow the reading of the names and will become a permanent part of the annual ceremony.

The memorial said hundreds of thousands of people participated in rescue, recovery and relief operations following the attacks in New York City, Arlington, Virginia, and Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Many responders and civilians were exposed to hazardous materials and toxins at Ground Zero, contributing to chronic illnesses and deaths in the years since the attacks.

The 25th anniversary comes as more than 100 million Americans are too young to have a personal memory of September 11, according to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. The institution said its education programs have reached more than 20 million students as it works to preserve the history and lessons of the attacks for younger generations.

The annual Anniversary Digital Learning Experience will allow students and teachers around the world to commemorate the anniversary through a 30-minute film featuring first-person accounts of the attacks and their aftermath, followed by a live chat with museum staff.

The museum is also continuing its Never Forget Fund campaign, which supports 9/11 education and efforts to preserve the memory of those who were killed. Chairman Michael R. Bloomberg is matching donations to the fund dollar-for-dollar, up to $25 million.

The annual Tribute in Light installation will return at dusk on September 11, illuminating the New York City skyline with two beams of light representing the footprints of the World Trade Center towers. The lights will remain visible overnight before fading at dawn on September 12.

For the first time, the Tribute in Light will also be featured in a live national broadcast. At 8 p.m. Eastern Time, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, in partnership with Disney Entertainment Television, will present a one-hour special, “9/11 Tribute in Light: Live from Lower Manhattan.”

The program will be hosted by David Muir, Robin Roberts and Diane Sawyer and will feature performances by Lainey Wilson, Cyndi Lauper and John Ondrasik of Five For Fighting.

The museum will also open a new exhibition, “In Their Honor: 25 Years of 9/11-Inspired Service,” on September 12. The exhibition will explore the continuing legacy of service inspired by the attacks through firsthand accounts, artifacts and multimedia presentations.

Musical performances during the anniversary commemoration will include Grammy-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Jennifer Nettles and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, along with musicians from the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Musica Reginae and The Harlem Chamber Players.

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum said it is also inviting journalists who covered the attacks and their aftermath to record and share their personal experiences as part of an effort to preserve the memories of those who witnessed one of the defining events of the 21st century.

The 25th anniversary commemoration is intended not only to remember those killed on September 11, 2001, and February 26, 1993, but also to preserve the stories of courage, service, resilience and compassion that emerged in the aftermath of the attacks.




Trump Honors 9/11 Victims and First Responders

Shibbir Ahmed, Washington DC: President Donald Trump honored the victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the first responders who risked their lives to save others as the United States prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the tragedy.

Trump held a remembrance ceremony Tuesday at the Ellipse outside the White House, bringing together firefighters, police officers, first responders, Gold Star families and representatives of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

A 21-foot steel beam recovered from the wreckage of the World Trade Center’s South Tower was displayed during the ceremony. The beam is part of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s “Steel Across America” initiative, which is taking pieces of the World Trade Center to communities across the country. Trump paid tribute to the nearly 3,000 people who were killed in the attacks and reaffirmed the nation’s commitment to remembering those who lost their lives.

The president also posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Welles Crowther, who helped save numerous people during the attacks and became known as the “Man in the Red Bandana.” Members of Crowther’s family accepted the nation’s highest civilian honor on his behalf.

Trump also announced that a new U.S. Coast Guard fast-response cutter would be named after Jeffrey Palazzo, a New York firefighter and Coast Guard reservist who was killed in the September 11 attacks.

The White House said Trump and Vice President JD Vance will visit sites connected to the September 11 attacks on Friday, the 25th anniversary, to honor the victims and meet with their families.

On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes. Two planes were flown into the World Trade Center towers in New York, another struck the Pentagon, and the fourth crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to regain control of the aircraft.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks, which profoundly changed U.S. national security policy and shaped American foreign policy for decades. The anniversary ceremony comes as the country continues to remember the victims, first responders and ordinary Americans whose actions on that day became part of the history of the United States.




Trump to Mark 25th Anniversary of 9/11 at Pentagon as White House Hosts ‘Steel Across America’ Tribute

Shibbir Ahmed, WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald J. Trump will mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at the Pentagon on September 11, while Vice President JD Vance is expected to represent the Trump administration at the annual memorial ceremony in New York City. The developments come as the White House prepares for a separate September 8 commemoration featuring a massive piece of World Trade Center steel at the White House.

On September 8, Trump is expected to host 9/11 first responders and other officials as the “Steel Across America” tour arrives in Washington. A 21-foot-long, 16,900-pound steel beam recovered from the South Tower of the World Trade Center will be displayed on the White House Ellipse. Trump and Tunnel to Towers Foundation CEO Frank Siller are expected to speak at the event.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation launched the nationwide Steel Across America campaign to carry the historic World Trade Center beam through communities across the country ahead of the 25th anniversary of the attacks. The tour is intended to connect Americans with the history of September 11 and honor the victims, first responders and military veterans whose lives were changed by the attacks and their aftermath.

Trump to observe 9/11 at Pentagon

On September 11, Trump will attend the official 9/11 observance at the Pentagon rather than the annual ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in Lower Manhattan. Trump confirmed that he would commemorate the anniversary at the Pentagon, one of the three locations directly targeted on September 11, 2001. The president also marked the anniversary at the Pentagon last year.

Vice President JD Vance is expected to attend the memorial ceremony at the World Trade Center site in New York City. The New York ceremony traditionally focuses on the victims and their families and does not feature political speeches. Family members read the names of those killed in the attacks, while moments of silence mark the timeline of the attacks and their aftermath.

The 2026 observance will carry particular significance as the United States marks 25 years since the September 11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people and reshaped U.S. national security and foreign policy for decades.

Trump’s decision to attend the Pentagon rather than the New York ceremony has drawn attention because he is a native New Yorker and had previously been expected to participate in the Ground Zero commemoration. Trump has rejected reports that his decision was related to restrictions on political speeches at the New York memorial.

The three major sites of the September 11 attacks — New York, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania — will all be represented in the nation’s 25th-anniversary commemorations, with administration officials expected to participate in ceremonies across the three locations.

For the Trump administration, the September 8 White House event and the September 11 Pentagon ceremony will provide two separate opportunities to honor the victims, first responders and military personnel connected to the attacks and the wars that followed.