US President Donald Trump has led commemorations marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, attending a ceremony at the Pentagon where the names of 184 victims were read aloud.
Mr Trump and first lady Melania Trump joined Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and senior military officials at the building struck by American Airlines Flight 77 on September 11, 2001. The attack killed people aboard the aircraft and inside the Pentagon, forming part of a coordinated assault that claimed 2,977 lives.
Before the ceremony, a huge American flag was unfurled across the Pentagon in heavy rain at daybreak. The event was hosted by Mr Trump, Mr Hegseth and General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
It was the second consecutive year that Mr Trump has marked the anniversary at the Pentagon. The president, who was born in New York, last attended the official ceremony at Ground Zero in 2024.
Trump vows America will ‘never forget’ 9/11 victims
At a gathering near the White House earlier this week, Mr Trump pledged that the victims would “never forget”, describing the attacks as one of the rare moments in history that divided time into “what came before” and after.
The event, organised by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, featured a 6.4-metre steel beam weighing almost 7,700kg that was recovered from the South Tower of the World Trade Centre. It had travelled across the country as part of the Steel Across America tour before being taken to New York for a procession honouring firefighter Stephen Siller.
In a proclamation issued on Wednesday, Mr Trump declared September 11, 2026, Patriot Day and called for US flags to be flown at half-mast in memory of the victims. The White House said the proclamation also recognised first responders, including those who continue to suffer serious health problems linked to their service.
Vice-President JD Vance attended the New York observance alongside former presidents George W Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Mr Bush was president when the attacks took place.
In Shanksville, Pennsylvania, other administration officials gathered to remember the 40 passengers and crew members killed when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field. Those aboard had fought back against the hijackers after learning that other planes had been flown into the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.
Across the United States, the anniversary was marked with wreath-laying ceremonies, moments of silence, vigils, flag displays and readings of victims’ names. Schools and communities also held lessons and volunteer projects reflecting on an attack that unfolded in a single morning but reshaped American security policy and left a lasting legacy of grief and conflict.
