Officials saw an American flag unfurled early Monday morning on the west side of the Pentagon — a hint of some of the ceremonies that would take place to mark the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
It’s been 22 years since the terrorist attacks claimed thousands of lives in New York City, Pennsylvania, and Arlington, Virginia – where the Department of Defense headquarters still stands today, despite being hit.
The attacks occurred quickly and claimed nearly 3,000 lives. To this day, diseases continue to affect first responders. The north tower was hit at 8:46 am, and the south tower 17 minutes later. A third hijacked plane punched a hole in the west side of the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m., causing the loss of another 184 lives.
Every year since then, a flag has been unfurled at the site to honor the bravery shown by the first responders and countless Good Samaritans who took action that day.
Other commemorations that will begin extend from the other attack locations, to Alaska and beyond. Joe Biden will attend a ceremony at a military base in Anchorage, and Kamala Harris will attend the historic annual ceremony at Ground Zero.
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Officials were seen early Monday morning on the west side of the Pentagon unfurling an American flag — a hint at some of the ceremonies that would take place to mark the 22nd anniversary of the September 11 attacks
Other commemorations scheduled to take place Monday morning include those at the other attack locations, in New York (seen here) and Pennsylvania. Others will take place as far away as Alaska, where the president will attend a ceremony in Anchorage
It is there that six moments of silence will be observed, commemorating the moment each of the towers was struck and collapsed, as well as the times corresponding to the attack on the Pentagon and the crash of United Flight 93.
The annual ceremony begins at 8:30 a.m., with family members and friends reading the names of the victims who died that day.
The tolling of the bells at 8:46 a.m. marks the start of the attacks, when hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 11 on floors 93 to 99 of the North Tower. The impact killed all 92 on board, including the hijackers.
Less than 20 minutes later, at 9:03 a.m., hijackers deliberately crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into floors 77 through 85 of the South Tower – leaving no doubt among New Yorkers at the time that the attacks were planned and malicious. earth. .
The president’s visit, en route to Washington, DC, after a trip to India and Vietnam, is a reminder that the impact of September 11 was felt in every corner of the country, no matter how remote.
On that day we were one country, one nation, one people, just as it should be. That was the feeling, that everyone came together and did what we could, wherever we were, to try to help,” said Eddie Ferguson, chief of the fire department in Virginia’s Goochland County.
It is more than 100 miles from the Pentagon and more than three times as far from New York. But a sense of connection is captured in a local monument that incorporates steel from the World Trade Center’s destroyed Twin Towers.
The predominantly rural county of 25,000 residents is holding not just one but two anniversary commemorations: a morning service focused on first responders and an evening ceremony honoring all the victims.
Other communities across the country are paying tribute with moments of silence, ringing bells, candlelight vigils and other activities.
In Columbus, Indiana, 911 dispatchers broadcast a memorial message to police, fire and ambulance radios in the city of 50,000, where a public memorial ceremony is also being held.
Kamala Harris – seen here arriving at La Guardia Airport Monday morning – will attend the annual ceremony at Ground Zero, one of several that will begin across the country to honor the lives lost in the attacks.
The World Trade Center was an idea for decades that eventually became a design of two 110-story towers in the 1960s. The 16-hectare ‘superblock’ with its own zip code, built for the Port Authorities of New York and New Jersey, would have seven buildings
The west side of the DoD building was targeted during the attacks. A flag has been unfurled at the site every year since then – honoring the bravery shown by the first responders and countless Good Samaritans who took action that day
Sara Nelson, a United Flight Attendant from Boston who lost nine friends on Flight 175, is seen mourning at the memorial at Ground Zero Monday morning
Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts raise and lower the flag during a commemoration in Fenton, Missouri, where a “Heroes Memorial” consists of 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.
“We are a small community,” Mayor Joe Maurath said, but “it is important for us to continue to remember these events. Not just 9/11, but all the events that set us free.”
Monmouth County, New Jersey, home to so many of the 9/11 victims, made September 11 a holiday this year for county employees so they could attend commemorations.
As another way to celebrate the anniversary, many Americans volunteer on what Congress has designated as both Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance.
At Ground Zero, Vice President Kamala Harris will attend the ceremony at the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum Plaza. The event will not feature remarks from political figures, but will instead give a stage to the victims’ relatives, where the names of the dead can be read out for hours.
James Giaccone has signed up this year to read again in memory of his brother, Joseph Giaccone, 43. The family attends the ceremony every year to hear Joseph’s name.
“When their names are spoken out loud, they don’t disappear,” James Giaccone said in a recent interview.
The commemoration is crucial for him.
“I hope I never see the day when they downplay this,” he said. “It’s a day that changed history.”
Biden, a Democrat, will be the first president to commemorate September 11 in Alaska or anywhere in the western US. He and his predecessors have gone to one of the attack sites most years, although Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Barack Obama occasionally celebrated the anniversary on the White House lawn. Obama followed one of those celebrations by recognizing the military with a visit to Fort Meade in Maryland.
First lady Jill Biden will lay a wreath at the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon.
In Pennsylvania, where one of the hijacked fighter jets crashed after passengers tried to storm the cockpit, a memorial and wreath-laying ceremony is planned at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stoystown, operated by the National Park Service. Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, is expected to attend the ceremony.
The memorial site will provide a new educational video, virtual tour and other materials for teachers to use in the classroom. Educators totaling more than 10,000 students have registered to access the free National Day of Learning program, which will be available this fall, organizers say.
“We need to pass this on to the next generation,” said memorial spokeswoman Katherine Hostetler, a National Park Service ranger.