WASHINGTON — The United States is marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks with ceremonies across the country, as President Donald Trump and senior officials honour the nearly 3,000 people killed and the first responders who rushed into danger.
Mr Trump is due to attend a remembrance ceremony at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, where 184 military personnel and civilians died after American Airlines Flight 77 was hijacked and crashed into the building.
The president had earlier joined first responders, Gold Star families and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation at the White House Ellipse, where a 21ft steel beam recovered from the South Tower was displayed as part of the Steel Across America tour.
The foundation said the 16,900lb beam had travelled more than 10,500 miles through communities in more than 20 states before reaching Washington. It is due to complete its journey at the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in New York, close to the route taken by firefighter Stephen Siller on the day of the attacks.
At the World Trade Centre site in lower Manhattan, relatives of victims are gathering for the annual reading of the names. The ceremony will include moments of silence marking the strikes on the twin towers, their subsequent collapses, the attack on the Pentagon and the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.
Vice-President JD Vance is representing the administration at Ground Zero, where the names of those killed in the 2001 attacks will be read alongside those of the victims of the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing.
Further commemorations are taking place at the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, where passengers and crew members fought back against the hijackers before the aircraft crashed into a field. Other administration officials are attending events there to ensure the White House has a presence at all three locations directly linked to the attacks.
The White House has proclaimed 11 September 2026 as Patriot Day and called for flags to be flown at half-mast in memory of the 2,977 people who died in the attacks. The anniversary has also prompted renewed attention to the thousands of first responders and recovery workers who have since suffered illnesses linked to their work at Ground Zero, the Pentagon and the crash site.
At the National September 11 Memorial in New York, organisers have said the 25th anniversary programme is intended not only to remember those who died but also to help a generation born after the attacks understand their impact and legacy.
