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US Marks 25 Years Since 9/11 Attacks 09/11 06:03
Americans are commemorating the 25th anniversary of 9/11, remembering the
shock, the dead and the sweeping consequences of the al-Qaida attacks on
symbols of U.S. might and prosperity.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Americans are commemorating the 25th anniversary of 9/11,
remembering the shock, the dead and the sweeping consequences of the al-Qaida
attacks on symbols of U.S. might and prosperity.
Friday's milestone anniversary will bring memorial rituals -- wreath-laying,
flag-flying, moments of silence, vigils and readings of victims' names -- and
volunteer projects in tribute to a day that about half of U.S. adults remember
as the most historic event of their lifetime, according to a new poll.
For others it's an occasion for private reflection -- or, in many schools,
education -- about the attack that unfolded in a single morning but left nearly
3,000 dead and a decades-long trail of aftermath, from personal grief to
far-flung wars.
Police Officer Casey Kloepfer plans to spend time Friday at the Brooklyn
station house where his father, Officer Ronald Kloepfer, reported to work that
day before being called to the World Trade Center. He didn't make it home.
Casey Kloepfer was only 4, but he grew up hearing about his father's
affinity for helping people and for a job that enabled him to do so. He became
an officer this past June.
"It's big footsteps to fill, but it's definitely something that I take very
seriously and want to continue to honor him and be the best police officer I
can," he said by phone this week. The 29-year-old wears his father's badge
number and even has joined the New York Police Department lacrosse team, which
his dad founded.
Trump to attend Pentagon observance
On Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida extremists hijacked four commercial jets and
crashed them into New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near
Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The impacts brought down the World Trade Center's twin towers -- icons of
U.S. economic power, and among the tallest buildings on Earth -- and blew a
hole in the Pentagon, the U.S. military's fortresslike headquarters near
Washington. The fourth plane also was headed for the nation's capital,
officials concluded, but the aircraft went down in Pennsylvania after
passengers and crew members stormed the cockpit and fought the hijackers.
"In the course of history, there are a few moments that divide time into,
really, what came before" and after, President Donald Trump said at a 9/11
remembrance in Washington this week. The Republican, who was in his native New
York on Sept. 11 and has often recounted his memories, plans to attend the
Pentagon's anniversary ceremony Friday.
Vice President JD Vance is expected at the observance at the National Sept.
11 Memorial in New York, while other administration officials are headed to the
Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania.
Planned remembrances extend far beyond the attack sites, from beams of light
projecting from New Hampshire's Mount Washington to a stair climb at
Mississippi State University's football stadium to a ceremony at Honolulu's
9/11 memorial.
At ground zero, a new tribute to those who fell ill
Traditionally, there are no political speeches at the New York
commemoration, where relatives read all the victims' names, punctuated with
moments of silence at key points in the attack timeline. For the first time,
this year's ceremony will add a silent moment to honor people who were exposed
to the clouds of toxic dust released by the twin towers' fiery collapse and
have since died of cancer and other illnesses. Questions remain about how many
people developed health problems linked to the dust.
It's a reminder of how the attacks' long shadow has reached into many
corners of life in the U.S. and beyond.
The U.S.-led global war on terrorism included invasions of Iraq and
Afghanistan -- the latter Washington's longest war -- and detentions and harsh
interrogation of terror suspects in an international network of secret CIA
prisons. The U.S. military found and killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in
Pakistan in 2011, but accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed still
awaits a trial 23 years after his capture.
The attacks changed U.S. air travel, prompted new federal surveillance and
intelligence-gathering powers and banking regulations, and generated ongoing
debate over the balance between security and freedom. The Department of
Homeland Security, many state anti-terrorism laws and billions of dollars in
state and local counterterrorism funding all are post-9/11 creations.
So, too, is the culture of individual vigilance summed up by the slogan " if
you see something, say something."
Unity, mistrust and scrutiny of New York's mayor
Sept. 11 generated a wave of patriotism that propelled some Americans to
join the military, fire departments, police forces or other public agencies.
But amid the national unity that many remember, the attacks also fanned
mistrust, prejudice and hate crimes directed at Muslims.
In the quarter-century since, Muslim Americans have played a growing role in
public life from statehouses to Congress to New York City Hall, where Zohran
Mamdani is the city's first Muslim mayor. Yet he is facing some criticism for
planning to attend the anniversary ceremony at ground zero, something his
predecessors have done for years.
Some complaints came from Republican ex-Gov. George Pataki and 9/11 victims'
relatives, who cited among other things past remarks that some of Mamdani's
political associates have made about the attacks. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a
Republican, also inveighed against Mamdani attending.
Mamdani, a Democrat, responded this week that he loves the city and country
and wants the anniversary to focus on victims' families, first responders and
New Yorkers who helped one another after the attacks, which he called a
"horrific act of terror." The 34-year-old mayor was an elementary school
student in New York on 9/11.
Sept. 11 isn't a federal holiday, but Congress has designated it both
Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance.
"One appropriate way to remember is by serving," says Jay Winuk, who lost
his brother Glenn Winuk and then co-founded the volunteer organization 9/11 Day
with friend David Paine. The group helps people find meal-packing and other
volunteer opportunities and this year arranged for dozens of Times Square
billboards to pause their advertising at 9:11 a.m. Friday.
Instead, they will simply display the time.
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