September 11 ceremonies ongoing across US as Americans reflect on 22nd anniversary of terror attack
Nearly 3,000 people died 22 years ago during the September 11 attacks
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Americans are gathering across the country Monday to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks, with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley saying that the country's resilience in the wake of the disaster proves that terror will "never destroy us."
President Biden, who is returning to Washington, D.C., following a trip overseas to India and Vietnam, is set to speak later today at a ceremony at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, while Vice President Harris is among the elected officials who attended events at the National September 11 Memorial in New York City. The names of the victims were read aloud there as part of an annual ceremony.
At the Pentagon, Milley said Monday morning that the "incomprehensible acts of September 11th created a void in our nation left by the thousands who never returned home.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Their families feel the absence of fathers and mothers and sons and daughters, at birthdays and holidays and graduations and weddings. And on ordinary days of the week when their loss suddenly moves them yet again," he added.
NEW YORK ANNOUNCES TWO 9/11 ATTACK VICTIMS IDENTIFIED 22 YEARS AFTER ATTACK
First responders salute as an American flag is unfurled at the Pentagon at sunrise to commemorate the 2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon, during an observance ceremony on Monday morning, Sept. 11, in Washington, D.C. (Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Milley also said the terrorists behind the attacks "hated America" and "our Constitution and the values that bind us together as a nation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"They hated freedom and democracy and the idea that we are all equal. Those terrorists wanted to destroy our country," he continued. "But on that day and every day since, the United States has demonstrated that we would never bow to fear and hatred. Momentarily shaken the United States rose from the ashes of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania to show the world that we were still standing, that we could not be toppled, that terror would never destroy us."
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, speaking alongside Milley, said, "September 11 made America a nation at war and hundreds of thousands stepped up to serve our country in uniform."
"The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have come to a close, but we remain relentlessly focused on combating terrorist threats to America," he added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DAUGHTER OF FDNY HERO KILLED ON 9/11 BELIEVES DAD SPEAKS TO HER WITH HAUNTING ‘PENNIES FROM HEAVEN’
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin hosts an observance ceremony at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in honor of the 184 people killed in the 2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon, on Monday, Sept. 11. (AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani also joined New York politicians and mourners at Ground Zero on Monday. Along with Vice President Harris were Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg.
Communities across the country are paying tribute with moments of silence, tolling bells, candlelight vigils and other activities. In Columbus, Indiana, 911 dispatchers broadcast a remembrance message to police, fire and EMS radios throughout the 50,000-person city, which also holds a public memorial ceremony.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Vice President Kamala Harris and New York City Mayor Eric Adams attend the commemoration ceremony on the 22nd anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on Monday in New York City. (AP/Yuki Iwamura)
Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts raise and lower the flag at a commemoration in Fenton, Missouri, where a "Heroes Memorial" includes a piece of World Trade Center steel and a plaque honoring 9/11 victim Jessica Leigh Sachs. Some of her relatives live in the St. Louis suburb of 4,000 residents.
On September 11, 2001, "we were one country, one nation, one people, just like it should be. That was the feeling — that everyone came together and did what we could, where we were at, to try to help," Eddie Ferguson, the fire-rescue chief in Virginia’s Goochland County, told The Associated Press.
A person looks at flags before the commemoration ceremony of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, in New York City on Monday. (AP/Yuki Iwamura)
The county, which has a memorial made with steel from the World Trade Center towers, is holding two events today to reflect on 9/11.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}One is a morning ceremony honoring first responders and the second is an evening ceremony for the rest of the community.
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, US EXPERIENCES WORST TERROR ATTACK IN AMERICAN HISTORY
The Tribute in Light is seen from Manhattan's Edge observation deck on Sept. 5. (REUTERS/Andrew Kelly)
"On September 11, 2023, it will have been 22 years since the attacks in Arlington, Virginia, New York City, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania," the county said on its website. "Goochland County Department of Fire-Rescue & Emergency Services has taken on the responsibility to honor the bravery that was displayed on this day, and to ensure we remember those innocent lives lost."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Names of victims are read during the commemoration ceremony on the 22nd anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks in New York City. (AP/Yuki Iwamura)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
A public ceremony is also taking place this morning at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, followed by a wreath-laying event later this afternoon.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.