Remembering 9/11 24 years later

It is hard to believe, but it has been 24 years since the September 11 attacks, the day that changed America.

The country will once again pause to remember the nearly 3,000 people killed when terrorists hijacked four planes, crashing three of them into the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York City, the Pentagon and when passengers and crew stormed the cockpit of Flight 93, crashing it into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Live updates continue below:

Update 1:47 p.m. ET, Sept. 11: The decision to move the Pentagon ceremony to the inside courtyard, instead of the traditional memorial site, was made because it was more secure, according to a White House official, who was not permitted to speak publicly, the AP reported. The decision was made after the killing of Charlie Kirk.

Update 12:17 p.m. ET, Sept. 11: The Bells of Remembrance were rung in Shanksville as the names of the 40 people who died on Flight 93 were read, WJAC reported.

The National Park Service recently put on display at the national memorial the Gate A17 sign that hung at Newark International Airport, the same gate that the flight departed 24 years ago.

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Update 10:41 a.m. ET, Sept. 11: The ceremony at the Pentagon, which normally is held near the 9/11 memorial, was moved into the internal courtyard. Officials did not provide a reason, but the decision did come hours after the killing of Charlie Kirk, The Associated Press reported.

During his speech, Trump honored not only those who died on 9/11 but also the current and future members of the military.

“We will defend the nation they served, the values they upheld and the freedom for which they died,” he said. “We will support our troops, we will protect our families, and we will preserve the American way of life for every future generation.

“We will build taller, grow stronger, fight harder and soar higher, and together we will go forward as one people with one heart, one faith, one flag and one glorious destiny under almighty God,” Trump said.

Trump laid a wreath at the Pentagon chapel after the ceremony and, with his wife, signed a guest book before returning to the White House in advance of a trip to New York, where he will attend the Yankees-Detroit Tigers baseball game at Yankee Stadium later today.

Update 9:56 a.m. ET, Sept. 11: President Donald Trump addressed the crowd gathered at the Pentagon, first speaking about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, announcing that he will be presenting the political activist the Presidential Medal of Freedom, posthumously, at a later date.

Update 8:54 a.m. ET, Sept. 11: President Donald Trump has arrived at the Pentagon, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, The Associated Press reported.

Instead of attending the events at Ground Zero as initially planned, Vice President JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, will travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, to pay their respects to Charlie Kirk, The New York Times reported.

Original report: Some will gather at ceremonies at each of the sites that have forever changed, while others will spend the day marking it in their own way.

James Lynch, whose father Robert was killed in the World Trade Center attack, said his family will attend an event in New Jersey before going to the beach, The Associated Press reported.

“It’s one of those things where any kind of grief, I don’t think it ever goes away, he said, adding, ”Finding the joy in that grief, I think, has been a huge part of my growth with this.”

Lynch, along with his partner and mother, spent the day before the anniversary in service in Manhattan, preparing meals for the needy.

As has been done in the past, the names of those who were killed will be read at the Ground Zero site. The New York Times noted that the reading will take hours.

Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance had been scheduled to attend the ceremony, but they are no longer going to travel to the site, CNN reported.

FBI Director Kash Patel, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other federal, state and local officials are at the site.

A moment of silence will be marked at the times when the planes crashed into the Twin Towers, Pentagon and Shanksville and when the towers fell. In all, there will be six moments of silence, The New York Times reported.

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President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will be at the Pentagon ceremony remembering the 184 service members and civilians killed there.

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Finally, at the site where United Flight 93 came down in Shanksville, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins will attend the ceremony that will also include the reading of the names of the passengers, laying of wreaths and moments of silence.

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