By Jeff Mordock (The Washington Times)
The nation is pausing on Friday to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks with solemn ceremonies across the country to honor the 2,977 people killed that morning and the thousands more who have died since from related illnesses.
At ground zero in Lower Manhattan, the former site of the World Trade Center, the commemoration begins at 8:30 a.m. Family members will read aloud the names of the 2,983 people killed at the site — victims of the 2001 attacks, as well as the six people who died in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.
Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joseph R. Biden are expected to attend the event along with Vice President J.D. Vance. President Trump will attend a ceremony at the Pentagon, which had also been attacked that day 25 years ago.
“We just decided as a team that I would go to New York for 9/11 and the president would stay here in D.C., of course, to commemorate what happened at the Pentagon, because that was a critical part of the tragedy of 9/11 as well,” Mr. Vance told reporters last week.
None of the former presidents nor Mr. Vance will be speaking at ground zero because of the memorial’s rule banning political speeches at the location.
The reading of victims’ names will be punctuated by moments of silence, starting at 8:46 a.m. in observance of when hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower. For the first time, there will be a seventh moment of silence to honor those who died from 9/11-related illnesses and injuries.
Other moments of silence include when United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower, American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon, United Flight 93 went down near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and when each tower of the World Trade Center fell.
At the Pentagon, Mr. Trump will deliver remarks about the heroes who stepped up that day. He also spoke at the Pentagon last year.
The last time Mr. Trump visited ground zero was as a presidential candidate in 2024, when he stood alongside Mr. Vance, Mr. Biden and then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
The U.S. Army hosts the Pentagon ceremony, which honors the 184 people killed when Flight 77 struck the building. Although the ceremony is closed to the public, it will be broadcast live.
In Shanksville, the National Park Service will hold its annual Sept. 11 observance at the Flight 93 National Memorial. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will represent the administration at the ceremony.
Veterans Administration Secretary Doug Collins participated in the ceremony last year.
The program will include a reading of the names of the 40 passengers and crew members killed when the hijacked plane crashed into a field after passengers stormed the cockpit.
This article was made available to WMAL via The Washington Times.
