Today marks the 15th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack, when al-Qaeda operatives commandeered airplanes to kill almost 3,000 people in New York City and Washington, DC.
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The 2,977 men and women who died in the attacks are being remembered this weekend with parades and memorials throughout the country. As we recall the events 15 years ago, let us renew our commitment to do all that we can, wherever we may be, to honour the victims of those attacks, as well as the others who have been harmed by terrorism in the years since September 11, 2001. “Who can forget the first responders who dashed into buildings on the verge of collapse, the service members who rescued the burned and injured in the Pentagon, or the passengers who fought to take control of their doomed plane over Pennsylvania?”
Houses of worship throughout New York City will toll their bells and families of victims of the 2001 attacks – as well as the 1993 bombing at the World Trade Center – will read the names of the people killed.
At Ground Zero, where the towers stood, the first moment of silence will be observed at 8:46 a.m. ET – the time the first plane hit the North Tower. A livestream of this event can be seen at www.911memorial.org.
In his weekly radio address on Saturday, U.S. President Barack Obama said it had been one of the darkest days in the history of the nation, but that it underlined the core values and resilience that define Americans.
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican rival Donald Trump are attending the anniversary ceremony at the World Trade Center. It will also include moments of silence and the tolling of bells.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Paul Selva were among the speakers at the ceremony.
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At the Pentagon, 184 people were killed when hijacked American Airlines flight 77 crashed into the building. Hundreds of people also are expected at a ceremony at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville.
