The United States is marking the ۲۵th anniversary of the September ۱۱, ۲۰۰۱ terrorist attacks on Friday, with memorials and remembrance ceremonies taking place across the country to honor the nearly ۳,۰۰۰ people killed in the attacks.
In New York City, the national September ۱۱ memorial and museum will hold its annual commemoration ceremony, with the families of victims gathering at the ۹/۱۱ Memorial Plaza and reading aloud the names of those killed in the ۹/۱۱ attacks and in the ۱۹۹۳ World Trade Center bombing.
The ۲۵th commemoration ceremony will begin at ۸.۳۰am local time. Sixmoments of silence will be observed throughout the ceremony, marking the times when each of the towers was struck and fell, as well as the times of the attack on the Pentagon in Arlington county, Virginia, and the crash of Flight ۹۳ in Pennsylvania.
And in May, the museum announced that it was adding a seventh moment of silence to honor the thousands of people who “have died from the health effects of ۹/۱۱ and its aftermath” in the years since the attacks. Working on rescue, recovery and clearing up for months amid the toxicity created at Ground Zero and in Lower Manhattan has been linked to a wide swath of cancers and respiratory diseases.
Current and former New York City leaders and other political figures are also expected to attend the ceremony, including the city’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
Former president Joe Biden and former first lady Jill Biden, as well as former presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton, and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, are also expected to attend the ceremony in New York.
Donald Trump is expected to commemorate the anniversary at the Pentagon, where American Airlines Flight ۷۷ crashed after being hijacked. That ceremony is scheduled to begin at ۹am ET. Earlier on Friday morning, a large American flag was unfurled against the side of the Pentagon building, echoing one draped that way on the day of the attacks.
JD Vance is expected to attend the New York ceremony.
On Wednesday night in New York City, a drone show featuring ۲,۹۷۷ lights, one for each person killed in the attacks, illuminated the skies over New York Harbor, before forming the outline of the twin towers.
Friday’s memorial ceremonies come just days after the Mamdani administration released more than ۱۷۰,۰۰۰ documents related to the health concerns, air quality and the city’s response to the attacks, including records suggesting that New Yorkers were misled about the safety of the air quality after the attacks.
Also on Friday morning, New York City firefighters are scheduled to hold a ceremony at the FDNY firefighters memorial on Manhattan’s Upper West Side to honor the ۳۴۳ members of the department who lost their lives on September ۱۱.
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In Virginia, the national ۹/۱۱ Pentagon memorial will be closed to the public from ۳am through noon on Friday for the Pentagon’s ۲۵th anniversary ۹/۱۱ observance ceremony, with the exception of any victims’ families, survivors or survivors’ families.
In Pennsylvania, a ceremony is also planned at the Flight ۹۳ national memorial, where United Airlines Flight ۹۳ crashed after being hijacked, beginning at ۸.۳۰am ET. The morning observance will include a reading of the names of the passengers and crew members, followed by the ringing of the bells of remembrance. The afternoon ceremony is set to feature “remarks, keynote speakers, music and concludes with a public wreath-laying ceremony at the Wall of Names”, according to the National Park Service.
On Saturday, another ceremony will take place at the Flight ۹۳ national memorial, where ۴۰ candle lanterns will be carried to the Wall of Names and placed beneath the names of each passenger and crew member.
Additional ceremonies and memorial events are scheduled on Friday across the country as communities mark ۲۵ years since the attacks.
