Newsman: America commemorated the lives lost when hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. New York City observed the anniversary Sept. 11 attack, the day of remembrance, moments of silence. The anniversary marks 25 years since the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people and left a lasting impact on the nation. The day was observed in heightened security in Lower Manhattan, New York.
The quarter-century milestone brings together those who witnessed the events in Lower Manhattan, families who lost loved ones and younger generations learning about one of the most significant days in modern American history. The observance continues the nation’s pledge to never forget the victims and legacy of Sept. 11.
During the observance ceremony on Friday, an additional bell and moment of silence was held to honor first responders, recovery workers, survivors and residents who have died from 9/11-related illnesses. Moments of silence were held to mark the timings of the attacks and the names of nearly 3,000 people who died were read out.
President Donald Trump attended a ceremony at the Pentagon. In New York at the site of the World Trade Center among the dignitaries, every living former U.S. president and first lady, members of the Congress, Vice President JD Vance, the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, as well as Mayor Zohran Mamdani. George W Bush, who was president at the time of the attacks, was joined by former Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton at Friday’s ceremony at the World Trade Center site.
“Today we renew the sacred oath that we first swore in their names a quarter of a century ago,” Trump said. “We will never, ever forget. That’s why we fight today.”
He sought to link the “war on terror” that followed 9/11, which sparked years of US involvement in Middle East wars, with his current conflict in Iran.
Trump told the crowd that the Islamic Republic “will never, ever have a nuclear weapon”.
IN New York City, two beams of light illuminated the Manhattan sky for a Tribute in Light on Friday evening, as other landmarks in the state lit up in blue in commemoration.
Commemorations were also held in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where Flight 93 crashed after passengers fought back against the hijackers.
As the names of the dead were read out for nearly four hours at the ceremony in Manhattan, a 9/11 widow criticized Saudi Arabia and what she characterized as failures by US officials to hold the kingdom accountable.
“And my husband, Tom Strada. You are missed more with each year that passes. But how can it be 25 years? And still we have no justice for the role that Saudi Arabia played in your murder,” Terry Strada said in her remarks broadcast live worldwide.
The comments by Strada, national chairperson of 9/11 Families United, drew applause from the audience.
The majority of those who carried out the 9/11 attacks were from Saudi Arabia and planning were led by al-Qaeda founder Osama Bin-Laden, scion of a prominent Saudi family.
But Saudi officials have repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks, and in 2004 the 9/11 Commission Report “found no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded” al-Qaeda.
Several tributes took place throughout the morning to commemorate the victims of the attacks. At 8:46 a.m., the first moment of silence was held at the ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum ceremony. This marks the time American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center’s North Tower.
The remembrance ceremony included several moments of silence corresponding with key events of Sept. 11, 2001. The second followed at 9:03 a.m., when United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower.
Additional moments of silence marked the attack on the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
For the first time, this year’s ceremony also added a silent moment to honor people who were exposed to the clouds of toxic dust released by the twin towers’ fiery collapse and have since died of cancer and other illnesses
There were no speeches. That is a time-honored tradition. The voices Friday belonged to the families who stepped to the podium to mourn their fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters and sons and daughters.
There was a demand for accountability and a demand for tolerance
“I’ve had to grow up and spend the past 25 years seeing people use it to hate on our Muslim brothers and sisters, to hate on people who don’t look like them, and that’s wrong, and that does no honor to the victims here,” said one victim’s son, Michael Massaroli Jr.
“The world changed that day. And I just think about the scale of how many people were affected who didn’t come home that day, looking at the water,” said Brian Kim.
Twenty five years after the September 11, 2001 attacks, 100 million Americans are too young to remember the day that changed our city and nation forever. It is our shared promise — made 25 years ago — to never forget so those born after 9/11 learn its significance and enduring legacy.
In statement released Friday afternoon, a White House spokesperson said, “President Trump is leading the most transparent administration in history, which is why he authorized the declassification and release of hundreds of pages of documents related to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.”
“The President will always pay tribute to the American heroes we lost in the tragic September 11 attacks, their beautiful family members, and to the acts of heroism that defined that fateful day when the unbreakable spirit of the American people prevailed,” the statement said.
On Friday, the CIA released 71 presidential briefs related to the 9/11 attacks, ranging in dates from 1998 to Sept. 12, 2001.
“The products trace the story of CIA analysts’ evolving understanding of al-Qa’ida and efforts to highlight and warn of Osama Bin Ladin’s attack plotting despite sparse, vague, and imperfect information,” the agency said in a statement.
Brett Eagleson, the president of 9/11 Justice, the coalition of victims’ families suing the Saudi government over its alleged role in the attacks, welcomed the documents’ release but pointed out that the records omit key documents they’ve requested as part of their suit.
Most notably missing are phone records belonging to Omar al Bayoumi, a Saudi national, Eagleson said in a statement. According to a lawsuit filed by the some of the 9/11 families, Bayoumi allegedly provided logistical and financial support to two of the hijackers.
“Families have asked both past and current administrations to release the records that will help expose the full truth,” Eagleson said.
“It is time for the Trump administration and Congress to do their part in helping the 9/11 Families get the justice we have fought for by holding the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia accountable for its proven role in the attacks that changed all of our lives so deeply and irreparably 25 years ago,” he added.
