NEW YORK. Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks changed America and the world, the nation is remembering the people who were killed, the first responders who ran toward danger and the families whose lives were forever changed.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists associated with al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airplanes. Two planes struck the World Trade Center towers in New York City. A third struck the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. Passengers and crew members fought back aboard United Airlines Flight 93 before the plane crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

The attacks killed 2,977 people from more than 90 nations. That total includes 2,753 people in New York, 184 at the Pentagon and 40 aboard Flight 93.

A woman reacts on a New York City street with ambulances behind her following the September 11 attacks
A woman reacts on a New York City street following the September 11 attacks. Photo by Don Halasy, New York Post, via the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress lists no restrictions on publication.

The Lives Lost, Risked and Given

The attacks caused an extraordinary loss of first responders. Among those killed were 343 members of the New York City Fire Department, along with members of the New York City Police Department, the Port Authority Police Department and other emergency services.

In the hours and months that followed, thousands of firefighters, police officers, service members, medical workers, construction workers, volunteers and others took part in rescue, recovery and cleanup efforts.

Many survivors and responders have since faced cancers, respiratory illnesses and other health conditions connected to exposure at the World Trade Center site. For them and their families, the impact of September 11 did not end when the recovery operation concluded.

Twenty-Five Years Later

Commemorations are being held in New York, at the Pentagon and near Shanksville. Names are being read aloud, bells are sounding and moments of silence are marking the times when the planes struck and the towers fell.

The anniversary is also a reminder that behind every number was a person. Each life carried relationships, plans, responsibilities and a future that was taken away.

Remembering September 11 means honoring those who died, those who answered the call to help and those who have carried the loss for 25 years.

The lives lost. The lives risked. The lives given.

We remember the 2,977 people killed on September 11, 2001. We remember the courage shown in the face of terror, the sacrifices made in the days that followed and the families who continue to live with the consequences of that day.

May we never forget.

Reporting Notes

Sources and further reading