The United States is marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on Friday. Memorials and remembrance ceremonies are taking place across the country to honor the nearly 3,000 people killed when hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. In New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, mourners gathered to remember the victims of the deadliest attack on U.S. soil.
The milestone anniversary includes memorial rituals such as wreath-laying, flag-flying, vigils, volunteer projects, and the reading of victims’ names. In New York City, the national September 11 memorial and museum is holding its annual commemoration ceremony, where families gathered at the 9/11 Memorial Plaza to read the names of those killed in the 2001 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. This year's ceremony includes an acknowledgement of how the attacks' toll is still growing, featuring a first-time seventh moment of silence to honor the thousands who have died since 2001 from illnesses tied to toxic dust that poisoned the air for months afterward.
The commemorations include various political figures and civilians. While four former presidents plan to gather at the World Trade Center memorial site, President Trump will visit the Pentagon. The ceremonies in New York, designed to be apolitical, did not escape controversy due to the absence of President Trump. Beyond the immediate remembrance, the events of September 11 profoundly reshaped U.S. national security policy and led to decades-long wars in which more than 900,000 died.