The people of the United States on Monday (September 11) remembered the horrific terror attack of 9/11 on its anniversary with personal tributes, tolling bells, and tears, as the observances were held from ground zero to small towns.
Huge crowds gathered at firehouses, memorials, campuses, city halls and elsewhere to observe the 22nd anniversary of the deadliest terror attack on American soil.
“For those of us who lost people on that day, that day is still happening. Everybody else moves on. And you find a way to go forward, but that day is always happening for you,” said Edward Edelman, after he reached ground zero to pay tributes to his slain brother-in-law Daniel McGinley.
US President Joe Biden, speaking at a US military base in Anchorage, Alaska after returning from a trip to India, Vietnam said: “We must never lose our sense of national unity, so let that be the common cause of our time.”
He added that “terrorism, including political and ideological violence, is the opposite of all we stand for as a nation”.
Today, we remember the 2,977 precious lives stolen from us on 9/11 and reflect on all that was lost in the fire and ash that September morning.
The American story itself changed on this day 22 years ago. But what could not — and will not — change is the character of this nation. pic.twitter.com/qYRfyquQxV
— President Biden (@POTUS) September 11, 2023
Almost 3,000 people lost their lives after hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field in New York, in a terror attack which gave new shape to America’s foreign policy and the underlying domestic fears.
On that day, “we were one country, one nation, one people, just like it should be. That was the feeling — that everyone came together and did what we could, where we were at, to try to help,” stated Eddie Ferguson, the fire-rescue chief in Virginia’s Goochland County.
Vice President Harris honours victims at Memorial Plaza
US Vice President Kamala Harris flew to New York City in Air Force Two where she honoured the victims of the 9/11 at the National September 11 Memorial Plaza, while US President Joe Biden was scheduled to commemorate at a military base in Anchorage, Alaska.
The president is set to deliver remarks to first responders, service members, and their families at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, which is generally used as Air Force One’s refuelling stop on return journeys.
Earlier in the day, Biden visited the John Sidney McCain III Memorial in Hanoi and honoured the late US senator and war veteran. He also exchanged a challenge coin with a US service member during his visit.
WATCH | 9/11 anniversary: 22 years since the deadliest attack in US history
In a video shared on his Truth Social account, former President Donald Trump said, “No one who lived through the horror of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks can ever forget the agony and the anguish of that terrible day. It was a terrible day.”
“We will say a prayer for each of the beautiful families left behind, whose pain is beyond comprehension,” he stated while paying respect to the memory of Port Authority employees, police officers, firefighters, military service members and first responders who “gave their lives in the line of duty.”
“God bless the memory of all of those who perished in the 9/11 attacks. We will never ever forget,” Trump concluded.
Meanwhile, the national flag of the US was unfurled on the side of the Pentagon and the Bell of Hope rang out at St. Paul’s Chapel to mark the anniversary.
(With inputs from agencies)
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