NEW YORK, NY — Americans marked the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on Friday with ceremonies that mixed grief, remembrance and tributes to resilience at the sites where the attacks unfolded and across the country. At the National September 11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan, families read the names of the dead as bells, moments of silence and personal tributes recalled the nearly 3,000 people killed in the 2001 al-Qaida attacks.
The anniversary also brought fresh attention to the long aftermath of 9/11, including the illnesses that have affected people exposed to toxic dust when the Twin Towers collapsed. In New York and Pennsylvania, public officials, first responders, relatives and survivors gathered to honor the dead and reflect on how the attacks reshaped American security, politics and daily life.
Ground zero ceremony centers on victims’ families and personal loss
The New York observance followed a familiar pattern at ground zero, where the emphasis is on family members reading the names of the victims rather than on speeches from elected officials. Relatives also offered brief personal remarks, thanked first responders and the military, and called for unity and remembrance.
Elsie Caldwell came to the memorial carrying a photograph of her son, Kenny Caldwell, so she could hear his name read aloud. She said she last spoke with him the morning of the attacks. His remains, like those of many other victims, have never been recovered.
Other relatives spoke directly to the loved ones they lost. Trisha Pakkala, whose mother Deepa Pakkala died, said her mother had “dreamed my whole life for me.” Kiersten Haub, who was 16 months old when her father, firefighter Michael Helmut Haub, was killed, said she carries him through each milestone.
A new remembrance honors people later lost to toxic dust exposure
This year’s ceremony added another moment of silence for people who were exposed to the dust and debris cloud released when the Twin Towers fell and later died of cancer and other illnesses. The tribute reflected the continuing health toll linked to the attacks, even as questions remain about how many people developed illnesses tied to that exposure.
The added remembrance underscored how 9/11 did not end in 2001. The destruction created immediate deaths at the attack sites, but it also left a separate and still-evolving public health legacy for responders, workers and others who were in the area that day.
For many families, the anniversary is not only about the moment of impact but also about everything that followed. The ceremony’s structure made room for both forms of loss: those killed on Sept. 11 itself and those who died years later after living with the consequences of the disaster.
Officials and former presidents attend ceremonies in New York and Pennsylvania
At the New York memorial, former President George W. Bush joined former Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, along with Vice President JD Vance. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, whose brother Gary Lutnick died along with 657 other employees of Cantor Fitzgerald, was seen wiping away tears as he revisited the place where 658 of his colleagues were killed.
In Pennsylvania, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum laid a wreath at the Flight 93 National Memorial and praised the passengers and crew who fought the hijackers aboard the plane that crashed near Shanksville. Officials have said the aircraft was headed toward Washington before those aboard stormed the cockpit.
President Donald Trump also attended a Pentagon observance, where he said the years since the attacks had shown “the even greater power of the American spirit to endure and prevail, and to win.” The Pentagon, the military’s headquarters near Washington, was one of the three targets hit that day.
The attacks’ long shadow still reaches into public life and identity
The anniversary highlighted how Sept. 11 helped shape a lasting culture of vigilance in the United States. The phrase “If you see something, say something” emerged from that era, and the attacks also helped drive some Americans into military service, firefighting and policing.
Casey Kloepfer, whose father, New York police officer Ronald Kloepfer, was killed at the trade center, became a police officer himself this June. He now wears his father’s badge number and said the job gives him a way to honor that loss while taking the responsibility seriously.
The commemoration also pointed to the growing presence of Muslim Americans in public life over the last 25 years, even as some people continue to contest how 9/11 is remembered and discussed. At ground zero, Michael Massaroli, whose father died in the attacks, criticized people who use the tragedy to spread hate against Muslims and others.
Remembrance stretches nationwide with service projects and timed tributes
Memorial events were held well beyond New York and Pennsylvania. Tributes included light beams from Mount Washington in New Hampshire, a stair climb at Mississippi State University’s football stadium and a ceremony at Honolulu’s 9/11 memorial. In Times Square, dozens of billboards paused their advertising at 9:11 a.m. and displayed only the time.
Sept. 11 is not a federal holiday, but Congress has designated it both Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance. Jay Winuk, who lost his brother Glenn Winuk and later co-founded the group 9/11 Day, said serving others is one appropriate way to remember the attacks.
The commemorations showed that a quarter-century later, the day remains both a national mourning ritual and a call to public service. Across the country, people marked the anniversary not only by looking back at what was lost, but by recognizing how the attacks continue to shape American memory and civic life.
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