New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani (centre) and N.J. Gov. Mikie Sherrill (right) attend the ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks at the National September 11 Memorial in New York.
| Photo Credit: AP

Americans commemorated the 25th anniversary of 9/11 on Friday (September 11, 2026), remembering the shock, the dead and the sweeping consequences of the al-Qaeda attacks on symbols of U.S. might and prosperity.

The milestone anniversary brought 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, according to a new poll. On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda extremists hijacked four commercial jets and crashed them into New York’s World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3,000 people.

Elsie Caldwell carried a photograph of her son, Kenny Caldwell, to the trade centre to hear his name and all the others read aloud Friday morning (September 11, 2026). She last spoke to him that morning a quarter-century ago.

“Mom, I just want to let you know that I love you,” Ms. Caldwell said he told her in a final phone call. She is one of many relatives of victims whose remains never were recovered.

The attacks brought down the World Trade Centre’s twin towers — icons of U.S. economic power and among the tallest buildings on Earth — and blew a hole in the Pentagon, the U.S. military’s fortress-like headquarters near Washington. The fourth plane was headed for the nation’s capital, officials concluded, but the aircraft went down in Pennsylvania after passengers and crew members stormed the cockpit and fought the hijackers.

“In the course of history, there are a few moments that divide time into, really, what came before and after, President Donald Trump said at a 9/11 remembrance in Washington this week. The Republican, who was in his native New York on September 11 and has often recounted his memories, attended the Pentagon’s anniversary ceremony Friday (September 11, 2026).

Former President George W. Bush, who was in office on 9/11, and former Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden and current Vice President J.D. Vance convened for the observance at the National September 11 Memorial in New York. Other administration officials went to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania.

For Angilic Casalduc, attending the New York commemoration “helps to show you’re not alone.” She lost her mother, Vivian Casalduc.

“There’s no timeline for grief, and unfortunately, no one can say how you can grieve, but coming here once a year makes it feel just a little bit better,” she said.

Traditionally, there are no political speeches at the ground zero commemoration, where victims’ relatives read aloud the long list of names and add personal messages. They thanked first responders and the military, talked about their loved ones’ lives, and mentioned family milestones they’ve missed. Many of those who spoke were too young to have met the relatives they lost.

The ceremony has long been punctuated with moments of silence at key points in the attack timeline, and this year organisers added another moment to honour people who were exposed to the clouds of toxic dust released by the twin towers’ fiery collapse and have since died of cancer and other illnesses. Questions remain about how many people developed health problems linked to the dust.

It’s a reminder of how the attacks’ long shadow has reached into many corners of life in the U.S. and beyond.

The U.S.-led global war on terrorism included invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan — the latter Washington’s longest war — and detentions and harsh interrogation of terror suspects in an international network of secret CIA prisons. The U.S. found and killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011, but accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed still awaits a trial 23 years after his capture.

The attacks changed U.S. air travel, prompted new federal surveillance and intelligence-gathering powers and banking regulations, and generated ongoing debate over the balance between security and freedom. The Department of Homeland Security, many state anti-terrorism laws and billions of dollars in state and local counterterrorism funding all are post-9/11 creations.

So, too, is the culture of individual vigilance summed up by the slogan “ if you see something, say something.”

September 11 generated a wave of patriotism that propelled some Americans to join the military, fire departments, police forces or other public agencies.

Casey Kloepfer became a New York police officer this June. He was 4 when his father, Officer Ronald Kloepfer, was killed at the trade center.

“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,” the 29-year-old, who wears his father’s badge number, said by phone this week.

Amid the calls to service and for national unity that many remember, the attacks also fanned mistrust, prejudice and hate crimes directed at Muslims.

In the quarter-century since, Muslim Americans have played a growing role in public life, from statehouses to Congress to New York City Hall, where Zohran Mamdani is the city’s first Muslim mayor. Yet he faced some criticism for attending the anniversary ceremony at ground zero, something his predecessors have done for years.

Some complaints came from Republican ex-Governor George Pataki and 9/11 victims’ relatives, who cited, among other things, past remarks that some of Mr. Mamdani’s political associates have made about the attacks. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Republican, also inveighed against Mamdani attending, though the two shook hands Friday as they and other officials awaited the start of the observance.

Mr. Mamdani, a Democrat, said earlier this week that he loves the city and country and wants the anniversary to focus on victims’ families, first responders and New Yorkers who helped one another after the attacks, which he called a “horrific act of terror.” The 34-year-old mayor was an elementary school student in New York on 9/11.

Remembrances extended far beyond the attack sites, including beams of light projecting from New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, a stair climb at Mississippi State University’s football stadium and a ceremony at Honolulu’s 9/11 memorial.

September 11 isn’t a federal holiday, but Congress has designated it both Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

“One appropriate way to remember is by serving,” says Jay Winuk, who lost his brother Glenn Winuk and then co-founded the volunteer organisation 9/11 Day with friend David Paine. The group helps people find volunteer opportunities and this year arranged for dozens of Times Square billboards to pause their advertising at 9:11 a.m. Friday (September 11, 2026).

Instead, they simply displayed the time.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, a series of coordinated attacks involving hijacked commercial aircraft targeted the World Trade Centre in New York, the Pentagon in Virginia and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, making it one of the deadliest acts of terrorism on American soil.

Nearly 3,000 lives were lost that day. The immediate aftermath triggered sweeping legislative, military and institutional changes across the U.S. These attacks prompted the initiation of the Global War on Terror, led to the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security and resulted in the enactment of the USA PATRIOT Act, permanently transforming the country’s domestic security protocols.

Now, 25 years have passed since this horrifying attack that shook the United States to its core, with people now inhabiting a deeply altered post-9/11 world defined by rigid security strictures and sweeping surveillance. 

Below are photos from that day that remind us of both the devastation and the resilience of those who survived.

Published – September 11, 2026 08:00 am IST