New York: Americans will mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on Friday, remembering nearly 3,000 people killed when hijacked airliners struck the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, while another crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.
A quarter-century later, the attacks continue to have a profound impact on the United States, shaping its foreign policy, domestic politics and approach to national security, while influencing generations who either witnessed the events or grew up in their aftermath.
For the families of those killed, as well as first responders and rescue workers, the anniversary remains above all a day to remember individual lives lost and the grief that followed.
Among them is Caroline Ogonowski, whose father, John Ogonowski, was captain of American Airlines Flight 11. The aircraft struck the North Tower of the World Trade Centre 47 minutes after departing Boston, killing everyone aboard.
Ogonowski, now 39, became a mother this year and named her son John in memory of her father. She recently took her baby to visit his grandfather’s grave and plans to attend a memorial ceremony in Boston on Friday.
“This year, there’s this new sadness in knowing that they won’t ever get to know each other,” said Ogonowski, who has worked in disaster relief and humanitarian assistance. “My father will never know his grandson. And my son will never know his grandfather.”
She stressed the importance of ensuring that younger generations understand both the events of September 11 and the people who lost their lives.
“We owe it to my father and all the others that we lost on that day to make sure that we continue to teach future generations about what happened, about who these people were, who these heroes were, how our country came together and became stronger because of it,” she said.
In New York, Vice President JD Vance and all four living former US presidents, including George W. Bush, who was president at the time of the attacks, are expected to join Mayor Zohran Mamdani and relatives of victims at the September 11 memorial in lower Manhattan.
The ceremony will observe moments of silence marking the times when two planes hijacked by Al Qaeda militants struck the World Trade Centre towers and when each of the towers subsequently collapsed.
Relatives will also read aloud the names of the 2,977 people killed in the September 11 attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, along with the names of six victims of the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing.
President Donald Trump is expected to commemorate the anniversary at the Pentagon.
A separate ceremony will be held in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the fourth hijacked aircraft crashed after passengers and crew fought back against the hijackers. The plane had been heading towards Washington.