Phoenix 24
A generation without direct memories of the tragedy inherits its consequences and the responsibility to remember.
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
The United States commemorated the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks with ceremonies at the World Trade Center site, the Pentagon and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed when al-Qaeda hijackers used four passenger aircraft to attack the country.
At Ground Zero, relatives read the names of the 2,977 victims as bells and moments of silence marked the strikes against the Twin Towers, their collapses, the attack on the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93. For the first time, organisers added a seventh silence for people who later died from illnesses associated with exposure to toxic dust and debris.
Vice President JD Vance, former presidents and other officials joined families in New York. President Donald Trump attended the Pentagon ceremony, where 184 passengers, crew members and personnel were killed. In Shanksville, relatives honoured the passengers and crew who fought the hijackers before their aircraft crashed in a Pennsylvania field.
The anniversary also recognised the continuing health consequences for firefighters, police officers, construction workers and residents exposed during the rescue and recovery operations. More than 600 members of the New York Fire Department have reportedly died from illnesses connected to September 11—more than twice the number the department lost on the day itself.
The attacks transformed American foreign policy, aviation security, intelligence operations and domestic surveillance. They led to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, expanded counterterrorism institutions and shaped political decisions far beyond the United States. Their consequences also included civilian deaths abroad, restrictions on civil liberties and discrimination against Muslim communities.
Twenty-five years later, remembrance must hold together personal grief, acts of extraordinary courage and an honest examination of the decisions made afterward. Preserving the victims’ names is essential, but understanding the wider legacy is equally necessary for generations that know September 11 only as history.
Memory preserves the victims, but responsibility gives remembrance its meaning.