US marked the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, also known as 9/11 today, with solemn ceremonies at commemorations in New York, at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The ceremonies entailed moments of silence, the tolling of bells and the reading of the names of the nearly 3,000 killed.
The remembrances were being held during a time of increased political tensions. The 9/11 anniversary, often promoted as a day of national unity, comes a day after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at a college in Utah.
Kirk’s killing prompted additional security measures around the 9/11 anniversary ceremony at the World Trade Center site in New York.
The anniversary ceremony in New York took place at the National Sept. 11 memorial and Museum, where two memorial pools ringed by waterfalls and parapets inscribed with the names of the dead mark the spots where the twin towers once stood. FBI Director Kash Patel was among the dignitaries in attendance.
Many in the ground zero crowd held up photos of lost loved ones as a moment of silence marked the exact time when the first hijacked plane struck the World Trade Center’s iconic twin towers.
Family members then read aloud the names of the victims, with many giving short remembrances, well wishes and even updates on their lives to their lost loved ones.
In a rural field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, a similar ceremony marked by moments of silence, the reading of names and the laying of wreaths, honored the victims of Flight 93, the hijacked plane that crashed after crew members and passengers tried to storm the cockpit. Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins was among those in attendance.
At the Pentagon in Virginia, the 184 service members and civilians killed when hijackers steered a jetliner into the headquarters of the US military were honored in a ceremony attended by President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump.
In all, the attacks by al-Qaida militants killed 2,977 people, including many financial workers at the World Trade Center and firefighters and police officers who had rushed to the burning buildings trying to save lives.
The attacks reverberated globally and altered the course of US policy, both domestically and overseas.
While the hijackers died in the attacks, the US government has struggled to conclude its long-running legal case against the man accused of masterminding the plot, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
The former al-Qaida leader was arrested in Pakistan in 2003 and later taken to a US military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, but has never received a trial.
In the years since the attacks, the US government has also spent billions of dollars providing health care and compensation to tens of thousands of people who were exposed to the toxic dust that billowed over parts of Manhattan when the twin towers collapsed.
9/11 Attacks Never To Be Forgotten
Trump, in his remarks at the ceremony at the Pentagon, recounted moments from that day, including snippets of conversations from passengers who were aboard the hijacked airplanes. “Today, as one nation, we renew our sacred vow that we will never forget September 11, 2001,” Trump stated.
“In America, we take blows, but we never buckle, we bleed, but we do not bow, and we defy the fear, endure the flames and emerge from the crucible of every hunch and stronger, prouder and greater than ever before.”
Donald Trump
He also referenced his decision to rename the Department of Defense the Department of War.
“If you attack the United States of America, we will hunt you down, and we will find you.
“We will crush you without mercy, and we will triumph without question, that’s why we named the former Department of Defense the Department of War.”
Donald Trump
People across the country also marked the 9/11 anniversary with service projects and charitable works as part of a national day of service. Volunteers will be taking part in food and clothing drives, park and neighborhood cleanups, blood banks and other community events.
