9/11: 25 years later, America Remembers

From New York City to the Pentagon and the field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, communities across the country gathered Friday for ceremonies honoring the victims, first responders, survivors and families whose lives were forever altered by the attacks.

A Day America Will Never Forget

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaida terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes.

Two planes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York City. American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon in Virginia, while passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 fought back against the hijackers before the plane crashed into a field near Shanksville.

A total of 2,977 people were killed in the attacks, including passengers and crew members aboard the four planes and people in New York and at the Pentagon.

Remembering the Victims

At the 9/11 Memorial in New York, families gathered for the annual reading of the victims' names.

The ceremony began at 8:46 a.m., the moment Flight 11 struck the World Trade Center's North Tower. Throughout the morning, moments of silence marked key moments of the attacks and the collapse of the towers.

This year, organizers added a seventh moment of silence to honor people who have died from illnesses linked to their exposure to toxic debris following the attacks. Thousands of first responders and survivors have experienced long-term health consequences in the years since 9/11.

Honoring Courage at the Pentagon

At the Pentagon, President Donald Trump led a ceremony remembering the 184 people killed there.

The names of the victims were read aloud as bells tolled. Vice President JD Vance attended the ceremony at Ground Zero in New York, alongside former presidents and other national leaders.

But the anniversary is about more than the buildings that were attacked. It is also about the people who ran toward danger.

Firefighters, police officers, emergency medical workers, military personnel and ordinary civilians responded amid extraordinary confusion and fear. Many risked their own lives trying to rescue strangers, and thousands of first responders later developed serious illnesses connected to their work at Ground Zero and other attack sites.

Remembering the 40 on Flight 93

In Shanksville, the Flight 93 National Memorial marked its 25th annual September 11 observance.

The 40 passengers and crew members aboard Flight 93 became symbols of courage after they learned through phone calls that other hijacked planes had struck New York and the Pentagon. They fought back against the hijackers, preventing the plane from reaching its intended target.

The National Park Service has scheduled additional tributes throughout the anniversary weekend, including a luminaria ceremony and the Tower of Light, a column of light shining into the night sky as a symbol of remembrance, courage and sacrifice.

A Generation That Wasn't There

For people who lived through 9/11, the memories remain deeply personal: the images of smoke rising over Manhattan, the collapse of the towers, grounded airplanes and the overwhelming uncertainty of those first hours.

But for millions of younger Americans, Sept. 11 is history rather than lived experience.

That has made the responsibility to preserve personal stories especially important. The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History marked the anniversary by displaying rarely seen artifacts recovered from the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the Flight 93 crash site, allowing visitors to encounter physical pieces of a history many young Americans know only through photographs and recordings.

25 Years Later, The Legacy Remains

The attacks reshaped nearly every part of American life, from national security and air travel to foreign policy and public attitudes toward terrorism. The wars that followed affected another generation of military families, while the health consequences of 9/11 continue to affect first responders and survivors.

Yet amid the grief, the anniversary also brings memories of extraordinary courage and compassion.

Twenty-five years later, the names are still being read. Families are still gathering. Memorials are still being visited. Stories are still being passed from parents to children.

And across America, the message remains the same:

We remember the lives lost. We honor those who served. We remember the courage of those who fought back. And we will never forget.