Firefighters, grieving family members, dignitaries, and politicians mixed with the general public.
NEW YORK CITY—Firefighters, grieving family members, dignitaries, and politicians mixed with the general public at a memorial plaza in lower Manhattan to honor those who lost their lives in the terror attacks on the World Trade Center 24 years ago.
The 24th anniversary ceremonies began at 8:30 a.m. with the national anthem. The New York City Fire Department Emerald Society Pipes and Drums played while police officers marched out carrying the Stars and Stripes.
Over the next few hours, relatives of those who perished in the Twin Towers read 2,977 names—husbands, fathers, sisters, and uncles—along with emotional personal messages.
There were six moments of silence, each accompanied by the tolling of the Bell of Remembrance.
The moments of silence coincided with the times at which various events happened on 9/11. At 8:46 a.m., the North Tower was struck by American Airlines Flight 11. At 9:03, United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower. At 9:37, American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon. At 9:59, the South Tower collapsed. At 10:03, United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. At 10:28, the North Tower fell.
The heaviness of those moments was somber and beautiful as thousands bowed their heads, clasped their hands, or saluted.
Three buglers played taps to conclude the ceremony.
Many major political figures were present, including FBI Director Kash Patel, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Others included former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is still recovering from a car crash on Aug. 30, and mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani.
Several people commented that the weather was similar to the weather on that September day in 2001.
“When you get weather like this … this is exactly how it was, that crystal clear sun,” Matthew Russo told The Epoch Times.
“A lot of people will tell you they get a flashback every September [when] the sun comes out glistening like this, even if it’s not the exact day.”
Russo, who was a firefighter in the Bronx on 9/11, stops by the memorial often. He never misses the anniversary.
“This is a sign of respect and remembrance for all the guys that died,“ he said. ”Just a nice environment to be in. To be real, it’s like a big family.”
He described the clean-up work that took place in the months following the attack.
“I worked down here until around April, on and off, and going through the whole pile until it was done,“ he said. ”That’s what I did. I wasn’t here during the collapse itself. It was the next morning we got down. And everybody pitched in. We worked hard for months and months until we got to the very bottom. Found every little scrap of everything they could find, whether it was people or personal effects—anything.
“It was pretty rewarding to work down here. I felt good about it.”
Robert Quick came to see the memorial ceremony from Springfield, Missouri.
“I’ve always wanted to come, just out of respect,“ he said. ”But what’s happened in the last couple of days, you know … I felt like I needed to be here.”
Despite his sorrow on the day of remembrance, Quick wanted to share a message of hope.
“Just know that there’s good in the world,” he said.
“You see a lot of evil, and we experience it every day. It’s always in the news, but there’s a lot of good people.”
Evan Sydney, who was a longtime New York resident before moving to Florida to care for his father, came to watch the 9/11 ceremony, saying that it made him sad but also made him proud to be an American. He was a volunteer firefighter back then and described his experiences from that day.
“There were F-16s circling around. There was a lot of smoke going toward New Jersey, and it was ’snowing.‘ And the ’snow’ was gray because it was all the stuff they sprayed on the I-beams. It wasn’t asbestos, but it was fluffy, and it was piled up on all the cars. You could sweep it up, and I swept it up and put it in a cigarette pack,” Sydney said.
“And it was a beautiful day like today. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was the saddest day of my life.”
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the date of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s car accident. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
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