Trump Leads 9/11 Commemorations as US Marks 25 Years Since Attacks

Twenty-five years after the September 11, 2001 attacks, US presidents past and present have joined families, officials and members of the public in commemorating the nearly 3,000 people killed when hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.

According to a BBC report, President Donald Trump led a ceremony at the Pentagon, while Vice-President JD Vance attended a memorial at the World Trade Center site in New York alongside all four living former US presidents and first ladies.

Moments of silence were observed to mark the times the attacks occurred, while the names of those who died were read out during commemorations across the country.

A separate ceremony was held in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed after passengers attempted to overpower the hijackers.

Former President George W Bush, who was in office when the attacks occurred, joined former Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton at the New York ceremony.

At the Pentagon, Trump attended the commemoration with cabinet secretaries and Condoleezza Rice, who served as US secretary of state during the 9/11 attacks.

“Today we renew the sacred oath that we first swore in their names a quarter of a century ago,” Trump said. “We will never, ever forget. That’s why we fight today.”

Trump also drew a connection between the “war on terror” launched after the attacks and his current conflict with Iran.

He told the crowd that the Islamic Republic “will never, ever have a nuclear weapon”.

The commemorations also brought back painful memories for survivors and families of victims of the attacks.

Janice Brooks had moved to New York only weeks before September 11, 2001, to begin what she described as “the biggest adventure”, working for a company located on the 84th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

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Brooks told the BBC that she was in her office when the first plane struck the North Tower. As she evacuated the building, the second plane hit with an “almighty thud”.

She recalled hearing “one of those horror film screams” after a woman was struck by debris and said she looked up to see a “big gaping hole” where her office had been.

At the World Trade Center memorial, bells were rung to mark the precise times the four hijacked planes crashed and the moments the Twin Towers collapsed.

Each of the six bells was followed by a moment of silence.

A seventh bell was added this year to honour thousands of people who later died from illnesses linked to the attacks, including cancer.

US health officials say illnesses associated with dust and smoke from the collapse of the towers have since claimed more than three times the number of lives lost on September 11 itself.

During the nearly four-hour reading of victims’ names in Manhattan, Terry Strada, a 9/11 widow and national chairperson of 9/11 Families United, criticised Saudi Arabia and what she described as failures by US officials to hold the country accountable.

“You are missed more with each year that passes,” Terry Strada said of her husband Tom Strada in remarks broadcast live worldwide.

“But how can it be 25 years and still we have no justice for the role that Saudi Arabia played in your murder?”

Her comments drew applause from the audience.

The majority of the hijackers were Saudi nationals, while the attacks were planned by al-Qaeda founder Osama Bin-Laden, who came from a prominent Saudi family.

Saudi officials have repeatedly denied involvement in the attacks, while the 9/11 Commission Report, released in 2004, found no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials funded the organisation responsible for the attacks.

Commemorations were also held outside the United States.

In London, a ceremonial event took place at Buckingham Palace and was attended by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and US Ambassador Warren Stephens.

The Toronto Stock Exchange also held a ceremony to honour colleagues who were killed in the attacks.

In Gander, Newfoundland, the US ambassador to Canada praised the community for taking in thousands of passengers from 38 diverted aircraft in the hours following the attacks.

“When people in America hear the word Gander, our hearts soften,” Pete Hoekstra said.

“As a representative of the United States government, thank you for your friendship… to the nation of Canada, thank you for being a partner and for the shared sacrifices that you made with us.”

The remarks came amid strained relations between the United States and Canada, with the two countries engaged in a trade dispute. Some Gander residents had called for Hoekstra’s invitation to the commemoration to be withdrawn.

His speech was nevertheless met with applause.

Former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, speaking separately after the event, said: “I have message for American friends… never mistake our generosity for weakness.”

He received a standing ovation.

In Milan, Italian and US firefighters also took part in a ceremonial stair climb in honour of emergency responders who died while responding to the attacks.

Wearing their uniforms and carrying equipment, the firefighters climbed 110 floors up and down the Galfa Tower, commemorating the number of floors in each of the Twin Towers.