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On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, a divided U.S. gathers to remember and grieve
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Air Force veteran.
Hillman says that like many, she is taking stock, on this milestone anniversary, of how 9/11 reshaped American society. "It changed the [nation's] foreign policy, the shape of the armed forces and the ways we understood what a threat was and what constitutes being safe," she told NPR.
Questions about the impact and legacy of 9/11 remain fraught for many. On Tuesday, New York City officials unveiled a repository for air quality documents linked to 9/11 that had been withheld from the public by past administrations. During a press conference, Jon Stewart, the comedian who has emerged as an activist supporting 9/11 survivors, voiced anger over a disclosure that he described as long overdue.
"They didn't recognize that the air everybody was breathing in downtown Manhattan was toxic until October of 2001," Stewart said. "So to be fair to them, they only buried that information for 25 years."
Former New York Gov. George Pataki, who was in office when the attacks happened, told NPR that he's proud of how New York City recovered from the disaster. But Pataki voiced concern about fault lines in American society that he believes grew after 9/11.
"We are just in so many ways unable to work politically toward finding common ground," Pataki said. "The biggest disappointment to me since Sept. 11 is that polarization. It's the opposite of the sense of unity — that we were all Americans — that we felt on Sept. 12."
On Sept. 18, 2001, New York Gov. George Pataki (left) stands with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (center) and New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani at the World Trade Center attack site in New York. Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Olsen, the former National Guard chaplain, says he also feels alarm about the nation's direction in the decades after the attack.
"I don't like the way it's gone. I love this country, but we're more disjointed and un-unified than we've ever been in my lifetime. Everybody's afraid of everything. And now we're back in the Middle East bombing again," Olsen says.
Piker later distanced himself from his remarks and apologized. During a mayoral debate in 2025, Mamdani described Piker's statement as "objectionable and reprehensible."
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and other Democrats condemned efforts to dissuade Mamdani from attending Friday's ceremonies. Mamdani, who has taken part in numerous 9/11-related events honoring families and first responders over the last week, told reporters that he will be present at Friday's ceremony in Lower Manhattan.
"I love this city — I love this country," Mamdani said. Anyone who makes such an offer or request is not an NPR employee and does not represent NPR.
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− Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics The U.S.
+ Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics 9/11 events honor those lost 25 years ago Events in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania honored those lost 25 years ago on Sept.
− remembers 25th anniversary of 9/11 The U.S.
+ 11, at a time when Americans are divided about the meaning and legacy of the terrorist attacks.
− marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
+ National As Americans gather to remember 9/11, they're also divided about its legacy Updated September 11, 202612:48 PM ET Originally published September 11, 20265:00 AM ET By
Bill Chappell
,
Brian Mann
Police stand in Jersey City, N.J., with One World Trade Center visible in the background as they participate in an event on Friday honoring the 25th anniversary of the Sept.
− Events will honor those lost, at a time when Americans are divided about the meaning and legacy of the terrorist attacks.
+ 11 attacks.
− National On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, a divided U.S.
+ Angelina Katsanis/AP hide caption
People who lost loved ones in the Sept.
− gathers to remember and grieve September 11, 20265:00 AM ET Brian Mann
A child walks through Empty Sky, the 9/11 memorial in Jersey City, N.J., on Aug.
+ 11, 2001, attacks gathered with first responders and others on Friday morning to mark 25 years since terrorists brought unprecedented devastation to the U.S.
The Picture Show They lost loved ones in 9/11.
− 23.
+ We invited them to leave a voicemail in their memory Ceremonies in New York City, Virginia and Pennsylvania are honoring those killed when commercial airliners crashed into the World Trade Center's twin towers, the Pentagon and a field in a rural area outside Pittsburgh, and thousands more who later died of related causes.
Speaking at a remembrance at the Pentagon, President Trump vowed never to forget the staggering losses suffered that day and honored the selfless actions and personal sacrifices the attacks inspired.
But he also used the moment to justify military operations against what he described as the menace of radical Islam.
"Today we renew the sacred oath we first swore in their names a quarter-century ago," Trump told the crowd.
− In the distance are One World Trade Center and Lower Manhattan.
+ "We will never ever forget.
− Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption
When the 9/11 terrorist attacks began on a blue-sky morning 25 years ago, the Rev.
+ That's why we fight today."
Several times, the president evoked the unity and resolve that followed.
"In those harrowing days after the attacks, we saw the authentic spirit of our nation," Trump said.
− Eric Olsen was working in upstate New York.
+ "We were all New Yorkers that day, every one of us, we were all New Yorkers.
− The National Guard unit where Olsen served as chaplain scrambled to deploy and served for months on a security detail around the massive pile of wreckage at ground zero, site of the World Trade Center's fallen twin towers in New York City.
The Picture Show They lost loved ones in 9/11.
+ But we were also all Americans, we were all family, we were all patriots."
Visitors pay their respects at the Wall of Names shortly before a ceremony honoring those who died aboard Flight 93 on Sept.
− We invited them to leave a voicemail in their memory "There was all this uncertainty," Olsen recalls.
+ 11, 2001, at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa., on Friday.
− "Are there going to be more attacks?
+ Matthew Hatcher/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
President Donald Trump speaks during a ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Sept.
− Is this just the forerunner?"
A quarter century later, a politically and culturally divided United States is commemorating a day of violence, loss and heroism that altered the trajectory of the nation, sending people's lives spiraling in directions they could never have expected.
+ 11 terrorist attacks in the courtyard of the Pentagon on Friday in Arlington, Va. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption
In New York, relatives recited the names of those who died, while cellist Yo-Yo Ma and other musicians performed in the background, punctuated by the peals of a ceremonial bell and moments of silence. The Brooklyn Youth Chorus sang the national anthem, with four living ex-presidents — former Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush — looking on with their spouses. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg sat next to Vice President Vance.
− "I intend to take some time to myself to pray, contemplate and grieve," says Olsen, who served a harrowing tour in Iraq and spent more than a decade of active Guard service counseling military personnel caught up in ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
+ Historically, the 9/11 memorial ceremony has been an important nonpartisan event, a moment of unity in an increasingly polarized nation. That was visible again on Friday.
− "I did a lot of death notifications for families who lost sons and daughters.
+ People who are fierce political opponents most of the time — like former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and current Mayor Zohran Mamdani — sat together, talking quietly.
Families held up large photos of the people they lost.
− It was just a very sad time," he says, now 68 and retired.
+ On a dais, speakers recited the names of people killed, along with the milestones their loved ones missed: grandchildren, great-grandchildren, a Knicks championship.
− The Rev.
+ Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, former First Lady Michelle Obama and former President Barack Obama attend the 25th anniversary commemoration of the Sept.
− Eric Olsen, who lives in Saranac Lake, N.Y., served as a chaplain in New York's National Guard, deploying to support a security detail at ground zero in Manhattan after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and later serving a tour in Iraq.
+ 11 attacks at the 9/11 Memorial in New York on Friday.
− Eric Olsen hide caption
The toll from 9/11 and the events that followed has been devastating.
+ Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
As in the past, there were no speeches by politicians or dignitaries, but some family members voiced opinions.
Terry Strada, whose husband Tom died in the twin towers, ended her recitation with a pointed message accusing Saudi Arabia of supporting the 9/11 terrorists and demanding more transparency from the Trump administration.
"For 25 years, administration after administration, including leaders in front of us today, chose to protect the Saudis instead of standing with the 9/11 families," Strada said.
Paul Keating's mother died when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the north tower.
− On Sept.
+ Barbara Keating's remains were finally found and identified just last year and are being laid to rest in Massachusetts.
"We carved the headstone 25 years ago but she wasn't there," Paul Keating says.
− 11, 2001, terrorists affiliated with al-Qaida, an Islamic extremist group, hijacked four commercial airliners.
+ "Now she will be.
− Two planes were flown deliberately into the World Trade Center towers in Manhattan.
+ This feels like some degree, some closure."
A child walks through the Empty Sky 9/11 Memorial with One World Trade Center and Lower Manhattan in the distance on Aug.
− A third jetliner slammed into its target, the Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia.
+ 23, 2026 in Jersey City, N.J.
− A fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
+ Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption
Historians say at least 2,977 people died in the initial attacks, when terrorists affiliated with al-Qaida, an Islamic extremist group, hijacked four commercial airliners. Tens of thousands more later fell ill, and many died from illnesses linked to toxic debris that spread after the planes crashed.
− Historians say at least 2,977 people died in the initial attack.
+ When the 9/11 attacks began on a blue-sky morning 25 years ago, the Rev.
− A study by Brown University found that an additional 7,000 U.S.
+ Eric Olsen was working in upstate New York.
− service members died in post-9/11 wars.
+ The National Guard unit where Olsen served as chaplain scrambled to deploy and served for months on a security detail around the massive pile of wreckage at ground zero, site of the World Trade Center's fallen twin towers in New York City.
"There was all this uncertainty," Olsen recalls.
− Tens of thousands more fell ill, and many died from illnesses linked to toxic debris that spread after the planes crashed.
+ "Are there going to be more attacks? Is this just the forerunner?"
A quarter-century later, a politically and culturally divided United States is commemorating a day of violence, loss and heroism that altered the trajectory of the nation, sending people's lives spiraling in directions they could never have expected.
− To mark the first quarter-century after 9/11, ceremonies are being held around the United States.
+ The Rev.
− In New York City, officials including Vice President Vance and former President Joe Biden will gather at the 9/11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan.
+ Eric Olsen, who lives in Saranac Lake, N.Y., served as a chaplain in New York's National Guard, deploying to support a security detail at ground zero in Manhattan after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and later serving a tour in Iraq.
− There will also be vigils at New York City Fire Department stations and a special baseball game between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets that will include tributes to first responders and those who lost their lives.
+ Eric Olsen hide caption
"I intend to take some time to myself to pray, contemplate and grieve," says Olsen, who served a harrowing tour in Iraq and spent more than a decade of active Guard service counseling military personnel caught up in ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
− "I encourage every American, particularly people who are young enough to not remember that day, just to tune in for a couple of hours and see what it meant," Vance said during a press conference last week.
+ "I did a lot of death notifications for families who lost sons and daughters.
− "I think that sense of commonality and common purpose that we all had on 9/11, that's something we really try every single day to get back to."
President Trump will commemorate the anniversary at an event held at the Pentagon, where he is expected to give a speech.
+ It was just a very sad time," he says, now 68 and retired.
A study by Brown University found that an additional 7,000 U.S.
− A memorial service will also be held at the site in rural Pennsylvania where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed after passengers disrupted the terrorists' plan to use the plane in an attack on Washington, D.C.
+ service members died in post-9/11 wars, with an exponentially larger death toll for civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
− One treatment of the aftermath of the attacks is a new exhibition at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City called "In Their Honor: 25 Years of 9/11-Inspired Service." It recognizes people who committed their lives to public service after experiencing the trauma of that day.
+ Ahead of the somber anniversary, the vice president urged young Americans to take a deep look back at the days that followed.
− A visitor stands at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa., on Sept.
+ "I encourage every American, particularly people who are young enough to not remember that day, just to tune in for a couple of hours and see what it meant," Vance said during a press conference last week.
− 11, 2025.
+ "I think that sense of commonality and common purpose that we all had on 9/11, that's something we really try every single day to get back to."
An image of Sharon Carver, who died at the Pentagon on 9/11, is displayed on a screen during the 25th anniversary commemoration of the Sept.
− Jeff Swensen/Getty Images hide caption
A couple pauses to read the nameplate on a memorial bench at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Va., on Sept.
+ 11, 2001, attacks at the Pentagon on Friday.
− 10, 2025.
+ Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
That sense of purpose is celebrated in a new exhibition at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City called "In Their Honor: 25 Years of 9/11-Inspired Service." It recognizes people who committed their lives to public service after experiencing the trauma of that day.
"That we can come together with compassion, with courage to serve after suffering an incredible set of losses, on 9/11 and after, is a really powerful message," says museum director Elizabeth Hillman, a historian and U.S.
− Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
"That we can come together with compassion, with courage to serve after suffering an incredible set of losses, on 9/11 and after, is a really powerful message," says museum director Elizabeth Hillman, a historian and U.S.
− One of the twin reflecting pools at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City on Sept.
+ Political and cultural divisions surfaced again ahead of Friday's commemoration, when two prominent Republicans who led New York on 9/11, Pataki and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, suggested in interviews, including with NPR, that Mamdani, the city's current Democratic mayor, who is Muslim, should stay away from memorial ceremonies.
Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, arrives ahead of the 25th anniversary commemoration ceremony at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York, on Sept.
− 2.
+ 11, 2026.
− The two pools sit in the footprints of the original twin towers at the World Trade Center.
+ Families and officials returned to the World Trade Center site on Friday to mark the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept.
− Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
Political and cultural divisions surfaced again ahead of Friday's commemoration, when two prominent Republicans who led New York on 9/11, Pataki and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, suggested in interviews, including with NPR, that the city's current Democratic leader, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is Muslim, should stay away from memorial ceremonies.
Speaking with NPR, Pataki criticized Mamdani for failing to break all ties with controversial Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who in 2019 said that America "deserved" 9/11.
+ 11, 2001.
+ Adam Gray/AP/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
Speaking with NPR, Pataki criticized Mamdani for failing to break all ties with controversial Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who in 2019 said that America "deserved" 9/11.
− "What I want this week to be a focus on is on the families whose loved ones were stolen from them."
NPR does not offer or accept money for coverage or interviews.
+ "What I want this week to be a focus on is on the families whose loved ones were stolen from them."
NPR's Franco Ordoñez contributed to this report.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Paul Keating attended 9/11 events in New York on Friday.
+ He did not.
NPR does not offer or accept money for coverage or interviews.