Americans gathered across New York, Washington and Pennsylvania to remember nearly 3,000 people killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks.
WASHINGTON – Web Desk: The United States on Friday marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, with memorial ceremonies held across the country to honor the nearly 3,000 people killed and reflect on the profound consequences of the tragedy.
Commemorations were held at Ground Zero in New York, the Pentagon in Virginia and the Flight 93 crash site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Families of victims, survivors, first responders and political leaders gathered to remember those who died a quarter-century ago.
Victims remembered at Ground Zero
In New York, the annual ceremony began at 8:46 a.m. ET, marking the moment American Airlines Flight 11 struck the World Trade Center’s North Tower.
Family members subsequently read the names of the 2,977 people killed in the September 11 attacks, followed by moments of silence marking the other major events of that morning, including the attacks on the South Tower, the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93.
A new seventh moment of silence was included this year to honor people who died in the years after the attacks from illnesses linked to exposure to toxic dust and debris at Ground Zero.
Ceremonies held across the United States
At the Pentagon, where American Airlines Flight 77 crashed, President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took part in the commemoration.
Mourners also gathered in Pennsylvania at the Flight 93 National Memorial, where passengers and crew members fought back against the hijackers before the aircraft crashed in a field near Shanksville.
The attacks killed people at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and aboard Flight 93. The tragedy remains one of the defining events in modern US history.
A legacy that continues
The September 11 attacks fundamentally changed US foreign policy, domestic security and public attitudes toward terrorism.
The attacks were followed by the US-led war in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq, while Washington significantly expanded counterterrorism and national security measures. The Department of Homeland Security was also established in the aftermath.
The consequences have extended beyond those who died on September 11. Thousands of first responders, rescue workers and people who lived or worked near Ground Zero were exposed to toxic substances, with many later developing serious illnesses.
The New York City Fire Department lost 343 members in the attacks, while hundreds of additional firefighters have since died from 9/11-related illnesses, according to department figures cited by Reuters.
A new generation remembers
Twenty-five years later, a growing number of Americans were born after the attacks and know September 11 primarily through family stories, education and historical records.
A recent AP-Ipsos poll found that about half of US adults still identify 9/11 as the most important historical event in their lifetime, underscoring the lasting place of the attacks in American public memory.
The anniversary has therefore become not only a day of mourning but also an opportunity to educate younger generations about those who died and the political and social consequences that followed.
Continuing grief and reflection
For victims’ families and many first responders, the passage of 25 years has not erased the personal loss caused by the attacks.
Memorial ceremonies across the United States on Friday reflected both the enduring grief of those directly affected and the broader effort to preserve the memory of September 11 for generations that did not experience it themselves.
The 25th anniversary has once again placed the human cost and long-term legacy of the attacks at the center of national reflection.
