09/11/2026
Today marks 25 years since September 11, 2001.
For those who are old enough to remember that morning, there are moments from that day that will never leave us. No matter where you were — at Ground Zero, somewhere in New York City, across the country, here in Alaska, or on the other side of the world you remember where you were when you heard the news. You remember the images. You remember the uncertainty. You remember realizing that our country had changed.
At 8:46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. At first, many watching from across the nation did not know what had happened or whether it had been a terrible accident.
Then, at 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower as millions watched on television.
In that moment, there was no longer any question. This was not an accident. The United States of America was under attack.
At 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon. At 10:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after its passengers and crew fought back against the hijackers. By 10:28 a.m., both towers of the World Trade Center had fallen.
2,977 innocent people from 90 nations were killed that day.
2,753 were killed in New York.
184 were killed at the Pentagon.
40 were killed aboard Flight 93.
Among those who made the ultimate sacrifice in New York were 343 members of the FDNY and 71 law enforcement officers, including 23 members of the NYPD and 37 officers of the Port Authority Police Department.
But the loss of September 11 did not end when the fires were extinguished or when the recovery operation ended. Thousands of responders, recovery workers, survivors, and members of the surrounding communities have lived with illnesses connected to their exposure in the years since. The FDNY alone has now lost more than 420 additional members to 9/11-related illnesses, and nearly 150,000 responders and survivors are served by the World Trade Center Health Program today.
Today, we remember the men, women, and children aboard those four airplanes. We remember those who went to work that morning in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and never made it home. We remember the people on the streets below. We remember the passengers and crew of Flight 93 who fought back, knowing what was at stake.
We remember the firefighters, police officers, paramedics, military personnel, emergency communications professionals, and countless others who answered the call. While thousands were desperately trying to escape danger, first responders were running directly toward it — climbing stairs, entering burning buildings, treating the injured, searching through rubble, and doing everything they could to save people they had never met.
We remember those who survived. We remember the families who waited for a phone call that never came. We remember those who searched for loved ones. And we remember the responders and recovery workers who carried the physical and emotional consequences of that day for the rest of their lives.
Some of us remember September 11, 2001 firsthand. Others were children. And an entire generation has now grown up that was not yet born when the attacks happened.
That makes remembrance even more important.
“Never Forget” cannot simply be something we say once a year. It is a promise and a responsibility.
We have a responsibility to remember what happened. To remember those we lost. To remember the extraordinary courage shown in the face of unimaginable tragedy. To teach future generations what September 11 meant to this country and why the names, stories, sacrifices, and lessons of that day must never be allowed to fade with time.
Twenty-five years have passed, but today — and every day — we honor their memory.
We remember. We honor. We will never forget.
September 11, 2001 — September 11, 2026
25 Years of Remembrance
— Cordova Police Department
