By Karen Rubin, editor@news-photos-features.com, news-photos-features.com
They carried photos, signs, flowers and flags, wore hats and uniforms, and came together, as they have each year since September 11, 2001, as a community of thousands in order to dull some of the pain of this horrific tragedy.
This commemoration remembers and honors the 2,983 men, women, and children killed in the 2001 attacks at the World Trade Center site, the Pentagon, and aboard Flight 93, and those killed in the February 26, 1993 WTC bombing. For the first time, an additional moment of silence was observed after the reading of the names to remember those who have since died from 9/11 related illness or injuries, which will be a permanent part of the annual ceremony.
Family members who participated in reading the names, coming up two by two and sharing some personal tribute to their own, were chosen by lottery and admonished not to be political.
But while seeking solace, the 9/11 families are also seeking “truth and justice” for the “plotters and the perpetrators.”
During this 25th anniversary commemoration, with Vice President J.D. Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (who was CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, which lost 658 of its 960 employees, and lost his brother on 9/11) sitting there, Terry Strada, who lost her husband, Tom Strada, a partner at Cantor Fitzgerald, could not resist the opportunity to call on the Trump administration to investigate and reveal Saudi Arabia’s role in the terrorist attack.
“For 25 years, administration after administration, including leaders in front of us here today, chose to protect the Saudis instead of standing with the 9/11 families,” said Strada, who chairs the advocacy organization 9/11 Families United.
She called on Trump to “tell the Saudis to stop lying. Tell them that if they want to be friends with the USA, they cannot continue to deny all of this, all of the pain, all of the destruction that we have all been suffering through,” Strada said.
“How can it be, 25 years, and still we have no justice for the role Saudi Arabia played in your murder?” Strada asked as many attendees applauded in approval.
She urged Vance to “carry that message back” to Trump who chose to attend the 9/11 memorial service at the Pentagon instead of the World Trade Center, where he was not permitted to speak.
Her remarks drew loud applause from the 9/11 families – despite being told by organizers to avoid political speech – and later she said that Lutnick, who she knows well, had given her a “high-five” for her remarks. Others also took the occasion to call for truth and justice, and holding accountable “the planners and the plotters.”
Later, in remarks to the press, she said “They withheld evidence. They vetoed JASTA [Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act]. They broke promises, both public and private. It has been one betrayal after another.” She said that 28-pages regarding Saudi Arabia’s role were “exorcized” out of the joint report by the Bush Administration; and FBI Director Robert Mueller buried evidence collected from a raid by British police 10 days after the attacks on Omar al-Bayoumi’s residence in England that pointed to his likely involvement in the attacks, and refused to extradite him from Britain, as the British authorities wanted.
And why, if 15 of the 19 hijackers and Osama bin Ladin were from Saudi Arabia, why did George W. Bush launch a war against Iraq. “It makes no sense to me,” she said.
(You can find a 2 ½ minute video shows connections of 9/11 to Saudi Arabia at the site, 911familiesunited.org.)
The nephew of 9/11 victim Lisa Marie Terry called on the president to make documents public that he alleged would prove the Saudi Arabia’s ties to these attacks.
“For 25 years, the deep state has hidden the truth about what happened that day 25 years ago,” he said. “President Trump, you’re our last hope. Release the unredacted files that implicate Saudi Arabia while what’s left of the victims’ families are still alive to see it.”
(On Friday, the CIA declassified and released 71 intelligence reports and Presidential Daily Briefs from the lead-up to the attacks on September 11, 2026.0
[President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order around the 20th anniversary in 2021 to declassify documents related to the investigation (such as Operation Encore files concerning potential Saudi logistical support)
Speakers ended their recitation of names with moving tributes to their loved one, some who they never met, some who carried on their name and their legacy, and some offered hope and meaning.
“Although I never met you…”
“You are a guardian angel.”
“I think about what you would have been and how you have inspired… We are leading meaningful lives but not a day goes by that we don’t think of you.”
“I think of the stranger who helped her down 50 flights of stairs – their names are etched in stone together.”
And some offered hope and meaning out of this horrendous tragedy.
“Find beauty in the ordinary,” one said. “Don’t wait for tomorrow. Make most of limited time we have here.”
The last speaker referred to the unity the nation showed on September 12, but said, “ We are a very divided country now,” and objected to the rise in racism, bigotry and hate speech, even circulating around the commemoration. Giuliani even told Mayor Mamdani not to attend the ceremony (but when Mamdani entered, he stopped and shook hands with Giuliani before taking his seat.)
He pointed to people of every race, ethnicity and sexual persuasion dying in the Towers, and expressed resentment at the politicization instead of unification, adding, “You are loved. God loves you.”
A total of 2,977 victims died in the September 11 terrorist attacks, spanning across specific demographic patterns in age, gender, nationality, and occupation and walk of life: 2753 at the World Trade Center, 411 emergency workers including 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 NYPD, and 37 Port Authority police officers; . They ranged in age from 2 to 85, with 75% being men. 2605 were American citizens, but citizens from 115 different countries also died. OF these 184 died at the Pentagon (including 64 on Flight 77); 40 passengers and crew died on Flight 93.
“More than 100 million Americans are too young to remember 9/11, making this anniversary an especially important moment to honor those killed, remember how we came together in the aftermath, and educate a new generation without a lived memory of the attacks, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum stated. The 9/11 Memorial is offering a free Digital Learning Experience to students across the country with a new film highlighting first-person accounts of the attacks and their aftermath.
The commemoration is for family members of victims of the 2001 and 1993 attacks and it is an extremely intimate experience, with the presidents, governors, mayors, dignitaries sitting under a tent on the side, very close to those gathered.
The ceremony paused seven times to observe moments of silence seven times – acknowledging when each of the World Trade Center towers was struck and fell, the times corresponding to the attack on the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93, and an additional moment of silence being observed for the first time this year to honor all who have died from 9/11 related illness or injuries.
8:46 AM Citywide moment of silence (observance of time hijacked Flight 11 struck the North Tower) Houses of worship tolled their bells throughout the city.
9:03 AM Moment of silence (observance of time hijacked Flight 175 struck the South Tower)
9:37 AM Moment of silence (observance of time hijacked Flight 77 struck the Pentagon)
9:59 AM Moment of silence (observance of time of the fall of the South Tower)
10:03 AM Moment of silence (observance of time hijacked Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania)
10:28 AM Moment of silence (observance of time of the fall of the North Tower)
12:20 PM Moment of silence (honoring those who have died from health effects of 9/11) following the conclusion of the reading of names
The 9/11 Memorial Museum, located at the World Trade Center in New York City, tells the story of 9/11 through media, narratives, and a collection of monumental and authentic artifacts, presenting visitors with personal stories of loss, recovery, and hope. (https://www.911memorial.org/).
______________________________
© 2026 News & Photo Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles,Inc. All rights reserved. For editorial feature and photo information, go to www.news-photos-features.com,email editor@news-photos-features.com.Blogging at www.dailykos.com/blogs/NewsPhotosFeatures
