Ground Zero: Four Ex-Presidents Mark 25 Years Since 9/11
On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, all four living former U.S. presidents appeared together at Ground Zero for the first time, while Trump marked the day at the Pentagon.
Twenty-five years after hijacked airliners brought down the towers of the World Trade Center and struck the Pentagon, the United States marked the anniversary of the attacks on Friday, September 11, 2026, with a commemoration at Ground Zero in New York where, for the first time together, all four living former U.S. presidents appeared: George Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden. President Donald Trump, who had originally been expected at Ground Zero, instead spoke at a parallel ceremony at the Pentagon, NBC News and television station WFMZ reported.
The central New York commemoration began at 8:46 a.m., the minute when the first plane struck the North Tower a quarter century earlier. Further moments of silence followed at 9:03 a.m., when the second plane hit the South Tower, at 9:37 a.m. for the strike on the Pentagon, and at 10:03 a.m. for the crash near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. This year also introduced a seventh, additional moment of silence, dedicated to those who have died of illnesses caused by exposure in the aftermath of the attacks.
Alongside the four former presidents, the Trump administration was represented at Ground Zero by Vice President JD Vance, while New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani also attended the commemoration. The names of the victims were read at the memorial site, and hundreds of members of the New York fire and police departments were among those gathered.
What happened at the Pentagon
While most of the media attention turned to New York, Donald Trump spoke at the commemoration at the Pentagon, where First Lady Melania Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and several cabinet members were also present. “Twenty-five years later, America is stronger than ever,” said Hegseth, the United States Secretary of Defense.
The third attack site, the field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where Flight 93 went down after passengers fought back against the hijackers, was marked by Homeland Security Secretary Doug Burgum and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
In the September 11, 2001 attacks, in which nineteen hijackers seized control of four passenger planes, 2,977 people were killed across the three crash sites, including Pennsylvania. According to figures released around the anniversary, more than 9,000 deaths from cancer and respiratory illness have since been linked to exposure to the toxic dust and smoke that followed the collapse of the towers, a figure that explains why this year’s commemoration added a seventh moment of silence.
A somber mood beside the reflecting pools
The mood among those gathered at Ground Zero was described as somber. Deborah Kovel, a former United Airlines employee who flew in from San Francisco to pay tribute to former colleagues, said the reflecting pools remain a painful reminder of that day.
Frank Gotabowski of Connecticut has come to Ground Zero for years, in honor of his friend Jeffrey Bitner. Asked by a WFMZ reporter whether this was his twenty-fourth consecutive year, Gotabowski did not confirm the number, saying instead that he had made a promise to his friend, and adding: “As long as I have air in my lungs, I’ll be here for you.” As in every year, two beams of light lit up the night sky over Manhattan, while the daytime reflection in the memorial pools stood as another reminder of the scale of the loss.
The Siller family’s story
NBC News also carried the story of Frank Siller, founder and chairman of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, who recounted how in 2001, watching the towers collapse on television, he told his mother-in-law that he believed he had just lost his brother. His brother, firefighter Stephen Siller, was one of 343 members of the New York Fire Department killed that day. According to Siller’s account, Stephen was supposed to play golf with his brothers that morning, but on hearing over the radio that the North Tower had been hit, he headed toward the scene through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, which had already been closed to traffic.
“We say freedom isn’t free,” Frank Siller said. “My family knows that.” The foundation he built in his brother’s honor now helps the families of fallen first responders, and members of the Siller family once again retraced his path through the tunnel that morning, twenty-five years later.
The next major anniversary, the thirtieth, falls in 2031, and judging by the figures released this week on those sickened by the aftermath of the attacks, the number of names read out each year at Ground Zero is unlikely to be any shorter by then.
