25 Years Later: We Remember

September 11, 2001 — September 11, 2026

It is difficult to believe it has been 25 years since a beautiful Tuesday morning sky turned dark in an instant. A quarter century has passed since 2,977 innocent people were murdered on American soil. Since airplanes were used as weapons, since the World Trade Center Towers fell, since the Pentagon burned, and since a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, became a place of extraordinary courage and sacrifice.

And yet, for the families who lost someone that day, September 11th will never fade into history. For some, it is the last morning they kissed a husband or wife goodbye. For others, it is the last time they heard a parent’s voice, hugged a child, or said, “I’ll see you tonight.”

For 2,977 people, there would be no tonight.

Instead, there were empty chairs at dinner tables. Unanswered telephone calls. Children’s birthdays celebrated without a mother or father. Weddings marked by the absence of parents and siblings. Grandchildren who would never know the sound of a grandparent’s voice. And families who spent years demanding answers, seeking accountability and fighting for justice.

Ordinary people, extraordinary courage

Today, we remember the firefighters and police officers who ran into the burning buildings while others fled to safety. The flight attendants, pilots and passengers who faced unimaginable circumstances with extraordinary courage. The office workers who helped strangers find their way to safety. The passengers and crew of Flight 93 who understood that their lives were in danger and chose to fight back. And the rescuers who spent days, weeks, months and years searching the ruins for friends, colleagues, and people they had never met.

We remember the families who, in the worst moment imaginable, found the strength to stand together. They became advocates. They demanded answers. They championed accountability. They refused to let the mass murder of their loved ones become a footnote in history.

For them, seeking justice is how they honor their loved ones’ memories.

There is a temptation to say that it is time to move on. But we must never move past the obligation to seek justice for those who were murdered. For more than two decades, the families of 9/11 have pursued accountability through the courts, through Congress, and through successive administrations. They have fought to hold accountable those who supported terrorism and to uphold the principle that American victims should not be forgotten once the headlines fade.

Their message has remained remarkably simple:

Acts of international terrorism cannot go unanswered by our civil justice system. The passage of time does not diminish the value of a human life. It does not reduce the responsibility of those who caused the harm. And it should not diminish our national commitment to the family members left behind.

On this anniversary, we remember the 2,977 people who were murdered. We honor the first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice. We remember those who died years later from illnesses caused by toxic exposure at Ground Zero. We hold in our hearts the survivors whose lives were forever changed. We remember the families. And we pay tribute to a nation that endured a day of unimaginable tragedy, yet was defined by extraordinary courage, compassion and sacrifice.

Twenty-five years is a long time. But it is not long enough to forget. It is not long enough to stop asking questions. It is not long enough to abandon the pursuit of justice. And it is certainly not long enough to forget the people whose lives were taken on September 11th.

Much has changed since September 11, 2001. The buildings have been rebuilt. The world has changed. But our obligation remains. We remember them. We honor them. We seek justice for them. And we will continue to tell their stories.

Because 25 years later, the most important message we can give the families, and the generation that follows, remains unchanged:

You have not been forgotten.

They have not been forgotten.

And we will never forget.