America honours 9/11 victims on 25th anniversary of attacks
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The United States marked the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks with nationwide tributes to the 2,977 people killed when al-Qaeda hijackers flew planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on 11 September 2001. Fresh accounts published to mark the milestone include that of Greg Carafello, who was on the 18th floor of the World Trade Center when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower at 8.46am, and who has since returned to work on the 85th floor of the rebuilt site, alongside a separate account of the diversion of dozens of transatlantic flights, including one carrying terminally ill children, to Gander in Newfoundland that day.
Commemorations drew serving and former US leaders together, including President Donald Trump and Melania Trump at the Pentagon, and Joe Biden, George Bush, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and their families at the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York. New York City also marked the day by recreating the Twin Towers using 2,977 illuminated drones, one for each victim, while President Trump addressed first responders at the White House, recalling his own visit to Ground Zero shortly after the attacks.
- US marks 25 years since the 9/11 attacks with nationwide tributes
- Survivor Greg Carafello recounts escaping the World Trade Center's 18th floor
- Trump, Biden, Bush, Obama and Clinton attended separate memorial events
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The 9/11 attacks took place on 11 September 2001, when al-Qaeda hijackers flew passenger planes into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, while a fourth plane crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed, making it the deadliest terrorist attack in American history and one that reshaped US foreign and domestic policy for decades afterwards.
Each year the anniversary is marked with ceremonies at the three attack sites, bringing together victims' families, survivors, first responders and political leaders from across the spectrum. The 25th anniversary in 2026 is a significant milestone, drawing both the current president and several of his predecessors to separate commemorations, reflecting how the event is still treated as a moment of shared national remembrance regardless of political differences.
The attacks and their aftermath remain a touchstone in American public life, shaping everything from airport security to military engagements abroad, and the anniversary is widely used as an occasion to honour those who died, including the emergency responders who took part in rescue efforts at Ground Zero.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Nation pays tribute to 9/11 victims 25 years after terror attacks that changed the world forever”.