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A quarter-century after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, families returned to the World Trade Center site on Friday to read aloud the names of the dead, marking a milestone anniversary of a tragedy that reshaped America.
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Mourners and survivors gathered around the twin waterfall pools that mark the footprints of the two towers in Lower Manhattan for the somber ceremony. Joining for the day of remembrance were Vice President JD Vance, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg. All of the living former U.S. presidents were also in attendance: Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
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As has been the tradition, family members read out the names of the 2,983 people killed on 9/11, as well as the Feb. 26, 1993, World Trade Center bombing. Beginning at 8:46 a.m., six moments of silence were observed at the times when each of the towers was struck, when each fell, when the Pentagon was attacked and when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania.
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The 17-minute period between when the north and south towers were hit by hijacked planes defined an era and a nation, and 25 years later, an estimated 100 million Americans — nearly 30 per cent of the population — are too young to remember that day. During the reading of names, young family members mentioned aunts and uncles they never got to meet, and parents referenced grandchildren who never got to know their grandparents. The square manmade waterfalls at the memorial plunge 30 feet, a design which their architect has described as “absence made visible.”
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There were moments when there was a notable shift in tone during what is typically a hallowed ritual, as some accused successive U.S. administrations of not holding Saudi Arabia to account for its role in the attacks.
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After reading names, Terry Strada addressed her husband Tom Strada, who was killed in the 9/11 attacks: “How can it be 25 years and still we have no justice for the role that Saudi Arabia played in your murder?” she said. “For 25 years, administration after administration, including leaders in front of us here today, chose to protect the Saudis instead of standing with the 9/11 families.”
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President Donald Trump attended a ceremony Friday morning at the Pentagon, honoring the 184 people who died there on 9/11 when a hijacked plane crashed into the building in Arlington, Virginia. At the Department of Defense headquarters, Trump defended the war in Iran, tying the current conflict to the U.S.’s decades-long fight against terrorism.
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“Today we renew the sacred oath, we will never ever forget,” he said. “That’s why we fight today.”
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For the first time, this year’s Lower Manhattan ceremony included an acknowledgement of how the toll of the attacks is still growing. After the reading of the names, a seventh moment of silence was observed, honouring those who died years later from illnesses and injuries linked to the aftermath of the attacks. It is a recognition that even as the morning the twin towers collapsed passes from living memory for more Americans, its consequences are still unfolding.