09/10/2026
Sept 11th- National Day of Remembrance
Twenty-five years ago, on September 11, 2001, our nation experienced an attack that forever changed our country and the world. Nearly 3,000 innocent people were taken from their families, friends and their communities. They came from different backgrounds and lived different lives, but on that morning, they became part of a story that we continue to carry with us.
Today, we remember them. We remember the people who went to work that morning at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. We remember the passengers and crews aboard American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175, American Airlines Flight 77 and United Airlines Flight 93. We remember the firefighters, police officers, emergency medical personnel and other first responders who ran toward danger while others were running away.
And we remember the ordinary Americans who, in extraordinary circumstances, chose to help a stranger, comfort a neighbor and look out for one another.
In the days that followed 9/11, our nation witnessed something powerful. We saw Americans come together.
Flags appeared on homes, businesses and streets across the country. Communities gathered to pray, mourn and support one another. Strangers reached out to strangers. Americans discovered that even in the face of unimaginable tragedy, we were stronger when we stood together. And that spirit of unity is one of the most important things we should remember today.
Veterans understand more clearly than most that freedom comes with an unspeakably high cost. For 250 years, our citizens have answered our nation's call, serving near and far from home so that Americans could live in safety and freedom. And for the generation of service members who followed the attacks of September 11, that call came with a particular sense of purpose.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and other places around the world in the years that followed. They carried with them not only the memory of what happened that September morning, but more importantly the determination to protect the country they loved.
Some deployed once, but many deployed time and time again. Numerous servicemen and women came home carrying wounds that were visible, while others carried wounds that could not be seen. And thousands never came home.
We also recognize the families who stood behind our service members — the spouses, parents, children, siblings and loved ones who endured long separations, uncertainty and sacrifice while their loved ones defended our nation. Their service and sacrifice are a big part of the story of 9/11, too.
Remembrance Day is not just about looking backward. It is a reminder of who we are and who we can choose to be, and that the greatest response to hatred is not hatred, it is service. It is choosing to help our neighbor. It’s volunteering within our communities. It is teaching the next generation what it means to be an American … and how to put aside the things that divide us and instead, remember what unites us.
Twenty-five years later, we cannot change what happened on 9/11, but we can choose what we do with its memory. We can remember the lives lost by living lives worthy of their sacrifice. We can honor those who ran toward danger by being willing to serve others. We can honor the service members who answered the call by keeping the promises made to those who served. And we can honor our country by working every day to make our communities stronger, kinder and more united.
Today, on the 25th anniversary, may we remember the nearly 3,000 innocent lives lost on Sept. 11. May we remember the first responders who gave everything trying to save others. And let us remember the service members who carried the fight forward in the decade that followed, and the families who sacrificed right alongside them.
And let us remember that, in one of our nation's darkest moments, Americans showed the world what it means to stand together. May we carry that spirit forward. May we continue to serve our communities and our country. And may we never forget.
God Bless America
