Joe Biden joins 9/11 ceremonies marking 25 years in New York
Former President Joe Biden, municipal officials, and surviving relatives gathered at the 9/11 Memorial Plaza in New York on September 11, 2026, to observe the 25th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks. The morning service commemorated the nearly 3,000 casualties who died during the hijacked airplane assaults across the United States.
Solemn observances mark milestones across primary disaster sites
Proceedings organized by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum began at 8:30 a.m. local time as relatives recited the names of those slain in the 2001 tragedy and the 1993 World Trade Center truck bombing. The morning schedule in New York observed seven distinct moments of silence to mark the exact minutes each commercial airliner struck the Twin Towers, the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, and an open field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Officials dedicated one interval to individuals who succumbed to toxic dust exposure and related health conditions in subsequent decades.
New York paused in silence.
National leaders convene at remembrance grounds in New York and Virginia
Elected dignitaries filled the outdoor plaza in Lower Manhattan, where New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani stood alongside former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. Former First Lady Jill Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also joined the official delegation overlooking the memorial pools to comfort families.
Donald Trump scheduled his visit to the Pentagon in Arlington to honor military and civilian victims at the exact spot where hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed. Vice President JD Vance represented the federal executive branch during the ceremony on the plaza in New York. Across New York Harbor, a synchronized fleet of 2,977 drones ascended to trace the luminous outlines of the fallen skyscrapers against the night sky. Each airborne beacon represented an individual killed during the metropolitan strikes.
Government archival releases coincide with field tributes for responders
Before the anniversary gathering, the administration of Mayor Zohran Mamdani declassified more than 170,000 municipal records documenting post-disaster air quality, medical monitoring, and internal emergency responses. Those archival reports revealed that public agencies previously distributed misleading guidance to residents regarding the severe respiratory perils generated by pulverized structural dust.
- Members of the Fire Department of New York assembled at their Upper West Side monument to read the names of the 343 firefighters who died during rescue operations in 2001.
- Officials at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Virginia restricted site access exclusively to survivors and bereaved kin between 3 a.m. and 12 p.m.
- Volunteers at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania transported 40 lit lanterns to the Wall of Names, placing each light directly beneath an engraved passenger or crew identity.
The National Park Service oversaw the observances in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, where hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into an open reclaimed mining field. Park rangers joined families to toll the bells of remembrance, read the names of forty passengers and crew, and place wreaths along the marble barriers of the Wall of Names. Choirs and military buglers provided ceremonial music during the morning assembly.
Independent civic delegations across multiple states organized simultaneous municipal observances to honor the fallen alongside the larger national commemorations. Local emergency response stations and municipal halls held bell-ringing tributes throughout the afternoon.
Civic groups concluded local 9/11 commemorations at dusk.
