Remembering 9/11: Ceremonies mark 25th anniversary of the attacks on America (live updates)

A quiet Tuesday morning, 25 years ago, changed in a heartbeat as the United States came under attack. Nearly 3,000 people were killed that day, and thousands of others have died as a result of the attacks over the quarter-century since Sept. 11, 2001.

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Ceremonies are being held nationwide, including at the sites of the attacks: Ground Zero in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the passengers and crew on Flight 93 were the first to fight back against al-Qaida extremist hijackers, preventing the United Airlines plane from reaching its presumed intended target, the U.S. Capitol.

The Associated Press said this year, as in past years, will bring “memorial rituals — wreath-laying, flag-flying, moments of silence, vigils and readings of victims’ names — and volunteer projects in tribute to a day that about half of U.S. adults remember as the most historic event of their lifetime.”

President Donald Trump noted earlier this week, “In the course of history, there are a few moments that divide time into, really, what came before.”

Trump is scheduled to attend the ceremony at the Pentagon, while Vice President JD Vance will attend the National Sept. 11 Memorial in New York. Other administration officials will attend the ceremony at the Flight 93 National Memorial.

Pentagon flag

Update 6:49 a.m. ET, Sept. 11: A large flag was unfurled at the Pentagon this morning starting at 6:46 a.m. NBC News said the moment Friday morning continued the tradition that started on Sept. 12, 2001, as search, rescue, and recovery efforts continued the day after the attack.

That day, several firefighters, atop the seat of our military, put up a garrison flag on the side of the building. According to the White House Historical Association, “The flag was displayed to encourage and inspire rescue workers as they searched the debris for survivors.” American Airlines Flight 77 had slammed into the west side of the Pentagon on 9/11, killing 184 people.

Melania Trump

Update 8 a.m. ET, Sept. 11: First lady Melania Trump wrote on social media, “To those who lost loved ones, dreams, and hope on September 11, I know today marks only one day in an immeasurable void,” CNN reported.

Drones depict Twin Towers

Update 8:03 a.m., Sept. 11: The Twin Towers rose into the night sky over New York City on Wednesday night, just as the real towers did, hours before hijackers crashed two planes into the massive buildings.

Instead of concrete, glass and steel, this time the Towers were made up of drones, 2,997 of them, one for each person killed on Sept. 11, 2001, CNN reported.

Ground Zero ceremony begins

Update 8:42 a.m. ET, Sept. 11: Survivors, families of the fallen and dignitaries gathered in New York City for the annual remembrance ceremony. Current New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani arrived at the site and shook hands with then-mayor Rudy Giuliani at the memorial, CNN reported.

Also at the site, all former living presidents and first ladies. President Donald Trump will be at the Pentagon instead of New York to mark the occasion. Vice President JD Vance is representing the administration at Ground Zero, NBC News reported. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was also in attendance.

First moment of silence

Update 8:47 a.m. ET, Sept. 11: The first moment of silence was held, marking the time that the first plane slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Reading of names begins

Update 8:50 a.m. ET, Sept. 11: The reading of the names of those who died has started at Ground Zero. The readings, done by the families of those killed, will continue throughout the day, pausing for five more moments of silence, marking when the other planes crashed, the towers came down and a new one, honoring those who have died over the past 25 years from the health issues connected to 9/11. The final moment of silence will be held after all the names have been read, according to CNN.

Second moment of silence

Update 9:04 a.m. ET, Sept. 11: The reading of the names paused for a second moment of silence to mark when the second plane hit the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

President Trump

Update 9:11 a.m. ET, Sept. 11: President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are at the Pentagon for the ceremony being held in Arlington, Virginia.

Department of Defense employees are also there to remember those who were lost.

Army chaplain Lt. Col. Charles Gilbertson, who has served for 19 years, called the scene “sobering” and said, “It’s just an honor to be here,” CNN reported.

“A lot of our younger people weren’t born at the time, so it’s about establishing a point of reference. The older people speak of it with reverence, and for them, it’s deeply personal,” he explained.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people began arriving at Memorial Plaza at the Flight 93 memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, NBC News reported. The family members of those killed in a field in Pennsylvania have been approaching the Wall of Names throughout the morning, placing flowers and posing for photos at the memorial to their loved ones.

Pentagon moment of silence

Update 9:38 a.m. ET, Sept. 11: A moment of silence was held at the Pentagon to mark the time when American Airlines Flight 77 smashed into the side of the building. Taps was played at the Arlington, Virginia ceremony.

Condoleezza Rice speaks

Update 9:50 a.m. ET, Sept. 11: Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke at the Pentagon Friday morning. The Associated Press reported she was the White House National Security Advisor at the time of the attacks and shared how she first got word of what was happening in New York that day, initially thinking it was an accident, but then quickly realized it was so much more.

She said that she still holds the deep pain that “those of us in authority on that day did not see the nature of the danger in time to prevent the attack of 9/11.”

Rice then said, “I will always carry deep personal remorse for the pain that you, the families of the fallen, still feel, and for the trauma that our country endured,” the AP reported.

Moment of silence

Update 9:59 a.m. ET, Sept. 11: A moment of silence followed a ringing of a bell to mark the time of the collapse of the South Tower in New York City.

Flight 93 moment of silence

Update 10:03 a.m. ET, Sept. 11: A moment of silence was held to mark when United Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The names of the 40 heroes on board the flight that came down in a field in Pennsylvania and missed its intended target in Washington, D.C., were read.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks

Update 10:06 a.m. ET, Sept. 11: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth addressed those in attendance at the Pentagon.

Hegseth connected the current war in Iran with the events of 9/11, the AP reported.

“Over the past six months, we have laid waste to the world’s most prolific state sponsor of terrorism,” Hegseth said. “Our warriors have fought an Islamic theocracy that has wished us death for nearly half a century, that cheered on 9/11, a regime that has sponsored terrorist attacks against Americans for decades, killing thousands, including our comrades in Iraq, in Afghanistan.”

He introduced President Donald Trump.

President Donald Trump speaks

Update 10:09 a.m. ET, Sept. 11: Trump started his remarks saying, for 25 years, we have gathered in New York, the Pentagon, and at the site of Flight 93. He noted the young children, the woman who had just found out she was pregnant, a member of the military who had just spoken with his son, and all who died when American Airlines Flight 77 was flown by terrorists into “this legendary building.”

He pledged to “never, ever forget,” and it is “why we fight today.”

Moment of silence

Update 10:29 a.m. ET, Sept. 11: A moment of silence was held to mark the time when the North Tower of the World Trade Center fell.

Photos from Ground Zero, Pentagon, and Flight 93 events

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Wedge of Light

Update 11:50 a.m. ET, Sept. 11: The “Wedge of Light” appeared from the skylight at the Oculus and moved across the floor to mark the time from when the Twin Towers were hit to the time they collapsed, NBC News reported.

It is called “A symbolic alignment of architecture, memory, and light at the World Trade Center,” on the website ExploreWTC.com.

“Each year on September 11, sunlight moves across the World Trade Center site in alignment with the timeline of the attacks of September 11, 2001,” the website said. It was created by architect Daniel Libeskind.

Reading of names ends, final moment of silence

Update 12:52 p.m. ET, Sept. 11: After several hours, the final names of those who were killed 25 years ago on Sept. 11, 2001 were read at Ground Zero. After they were read and after the family members gave remarks, the final moment of silence was held. It honored the memories of the thousands of people who have died from 9/11-related illnesses for the first time since the commemorations started 24 years ago.

After the moment of silence, a rendition of “Taps” was played at Memorial Plaza at Ground Zero.

Flight 93 ceremony

Update 1:05 p.m. ET, Sept. 11: The ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the crash of Flight 93 has begun outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

CNN reported that the families of the passengers and crew members on board are once again at the event.

As the event was held, NBC News reported that members of the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department opened their station’s doors to give those who have traveled to rural Pennsylvania “a warm meal and a place of respite for those grieving.”

“These are faces that go with what we saw on the ground that day, and they need comfort,” Assistant Fire Chief Brad Shober said.

The first engine that responded to the site of the crash sits at the firehouse, 25 years later. It will finally be retired.

“They weren’t sure what they were headed to, but this was the vehicle to get them there,” Shober said.

“We’re not near New York, we’re not near D.C., but our three locations are all now connected,” he said. “You realize you are part of a much bigger picture than just small-town Shanksville.”

Check back throughout the day for live updates from the ceremonies being held in New York City, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

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