September 11 marks twenty-four years since the 2001 terror attacks in the United States of America, carried out by al-Qaida militants. The Americans are marking the day with solemn ceremonies, volunteer work, and other tributes honouring the victims. Many loved ones of the 2,977 people killed will join dignitaries and politicians at commemorations on Thursday in New York, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, while others have decided to mark the day at more intimate gatherings.
James Lynch, who lost his father, Robert Lynch, during the World Trade Centre attack, said he and his family will attend a ceremony near their hometown in New Jersey before spending the day at the beach.
“It's one of those things where any kind of grief, I don't think it ever goes away,” Lynch said as he, his partner, and his mother joined thousands of volunteers preparing meals for the needy at a 9/11 charity event in Manhattan the day before the anniversary.
“Finding the joy in that grief, I think, has been a huge part of my growth with this,” he then added.
The remembrances are being held during a time of increased political tensions. The 9/11 anniversary, often promoted as a day of national unity, comes a day after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at a college in Utah. The reading of names and moments of silence for Kirk's killing is expected to prompt additional security measures around the 9/11 anniversary ceremony at the World Trade Centre site in New York, authorities said.
At ground zero in lower Manhattan, the names of the attack victims will be read aloud by family and loved ones in a ceremony attended by Vice President JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance. Moments of silence will mark the exact times when hijacked planes struck the World Trade Centre's iconic twin towers, as well as when the skyscrapers fell.
At the Pentagon in Virginia, the 184 service members and civilians killed when hijackers steered a jetliner into the headquarters of the US military will be honoured. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will attend the service before heading to the Bronx for a baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers on Thursday evening.
And in a rural field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, a similar ceremony marked by moments of silence, the reading of names and the laying of wreaths, will honour the victims of Flight 93, the hijacked plane that crashed after crew members and passengers tried to storm the cockpit. That service will be attended by Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins.
The anniversary ceremony in New York will be taking place at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, where two memorial pools ringed by waterfalls and parapets inscribed with the names of the dead mark the spots where the twin towers once stood.
The common man of the US marks the 9/11 anniversary with service projects and charity works as part of a national day of service. Volunteers will participate in food and clothing drives, park and neighbourhood cleanups, blood drives, and other community events.
Among those killed in the brutal terror attacks, included many financial workers at the World Trade Centre and firefighters and police officers who had rushed to the burning buildings trying to save lives. Post attacks, the US altered it's policy, both domestically and overseas. It led to the “Global War on Terrorism” and the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and related conflicts that killed hundreds of thousands of troops and civilians.
While the hijackers died in the attacks, the US government has struggled to conclude its long-running legal case against the man accused of masterminding the plot, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The former al-Qaida leader was arrested in Pakistan in 2003 and later taken to a US military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, but has never received a trial.
Follow us
