Americans across the country will pause on Friday to mark the 9/11 25th anniversary, a quarter century after hijacked planes killed nearly 3,000 people. The attacks struck the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, changing the nation in ways that still echo today.
For victims’ families, first responders and survivors, the day also carries deep personal weight. Meanwhile, the wider public reflects on how the attacks reshaped foreign policy, domestic politics and everyday security measures.
Caroline Ogonowski lost her father, John, the captain of American Airlines Flight 11, in the attack on the North Tower. This year, she welcomed her first child and named him John after his grandfather. She visited her father’s grave last week and plans to attend Boston’s memorial ceremony on Friday.
She said a new sadness has settled in, knowing her father and son will never meet each other. Still, she believes future generations must learn who the victims were and how the country responded. Additionally, she stressed the importance of honoring the heroes who emerged that day.
In New York, Vice President JD Vance and all four living former presidents will join Mayor Zohran Mamdani at the Manhattan memorial. Family members will read aloud the names of nearly 3,000 victims from New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. The ceremony will also include moments of silence marking key points of the attack.
President Trump will mark the anniversary at the Pentagon, while mourners gather separately in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. That site honors passengers who brought down a fourth hijacked plane before it could reach Washington.
Meanwhile, an entire generation has grown up without memories of the attacks yet shaped by their aftermath. The attacks launched the war on terror, leading to new government agencies and lengthy military campaigns abroad. Public backlash against these wars later influenced major shifts in American politics.
However, the attacks also fueled prejudice against Muslim Americans, a pattern researchers say persists today. Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, has faced pressure from critics but has refused to skip Friday’s ceremony.
Beyond the initial attack, thousands of responders later fell ill from toxic exposure at Ground Zero. Patrick Whalen’s father worked for months in the dust before dying from a rare cancer linked to the site. Officials had assured workers the air was safe, though that information later proved false.
Finally, the New York Fire Department has lost hundreds of members to 9/11-related illnesses since 2001. Twenty-six firefighters have died from these conditions this year alone, underscoring how the tragedy’s toll continues to grow. The 9/11 25th anniversary has also renewed national conversations about sacrifice, memory and how the country honors those it lost.
