The United States is commemorating the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, with ceremonies across the country honouring the 2,977 people killed in the attacks.
Memorial events on Friday include wreath-laying ceremonies, moments of silence, vigils, readings of victims’ names and community volunteer projects.
President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend a commemoration at the Pentagon, while Vice-President JD Vance is expected at the National September 11 Memorial in New York.
Other members of the administration are expected to attend events at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania.
Trump, who was in New York when the attacks occurred, described September 11 as one of the moments in history that divides time into what came before and after it.
“In the course of history, there are a few moments that divide time into, really, what came before” and after, Trump said at a 9/11 remembrance event in Washington earlier this week.
The anniversary is also being marked beyond the three locations directly targeted by the attackers, with memorial activities planned in several states.
Among the events are beams of light projected from Mount Washington in New Hampshire, a stair climb at Mississippi State University’s football stadium and a ceremony at a 9/11 memorial in Honolulu.
The attacks involved four hijacked passenger planes. Two were flown into the World Trade Centre in New York, another struck the Pentagon near Washington, while the fourth crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers confronted the hijackers.
The attacks prompted major changes in US foreign and domestic policy, including the launch of the so-called war on terror and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
They also led to expanded intelligence and surveillance operations, while the treatment of terrorism suspects and the use of practices including rendition and enhanced interrogation drew widespread criticism.
The aftermath also affected Muslim Americans, who faced a rise in hate crimes and discrimination following the attacks.
For many families of the victims, however, the anniversary remains primarily a day of personal remembrance.
Anna Sweeney Rossman, whose mother, flight attendant Madeline Amy Sweeney, was killed aboard American Airlines Flight 11, said the loss of her mother has remained part of major milestones in her life.
Rossman recalled the difficulty of planning her wedding and having her own children without her mother, while also reflecting on the fact that she was approaching the age at which her mother died.
Sweeney had called her supervisor from the hijacked aircraft and provided information about the hijackers before the plane crashed into the World Trade Centre.
New York police officer Casey Kloepfer is also marking the anniversary by remembering his father, officer Ronald Kloepfer, who was killed while responding to the attacks.
Kloepfer, who was four years old at the time, joined the New York Police Department this year and wears his late father’s badge number.
“It’s big footsteps to fill, but it’s definitely something that I take very seriously and want to continue to honour him and be the best police officer I can,” he said.
The 25th anniversary has also prompted Americans to reflect on how the attacks changed the country.
Some recalled a strong sense of national unity and patriotism immediately after the attacks, while others pointed to the wars that followed, expanded government surveillance and the rise in Islamophobia.
Jennifer Jasensky, a Connecticut resident who was an adult when the attacks occurred, recalled the widespread display of American flags in the days that followed.
“When 9/11 first happened, everyone became your friend. We were all together in this loss, and the country felt like home everywhere,” she said.
For other Americans, the anniversary is a reminder of the continuing consequences of the attacks and the policies adopted in response.
The commemorations will also honour people who developed illnesses after being exposed to toxic dust from the collapse of the World Trade Centre.
For the first time, this year’s ceremony includes a silent moment recognising people exposed to the dust who later died from cancer and other illnesses.
Twenty-five years after the attacks, the United States is therefore marking not only the loss of nearly 3,000 lives but also the lasting impact of September 11 on American society, security policy and generations who grew up in its aftermath.
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