Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris today led the official memorial ceremony for the victims of the terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center in New York 22 years ago.
Harris, along with city officials and relatives of victims, survivors and residents, attended the event, which took place at the Ground Zero Memorial.
The Memorial to the Victims of September 11th consists of two black granite fountains with the names of the deceased engraved in bronze and was erected on the exact same site where the World Trade Center or the Twin Towers were previously built, as he was known.
Both towers (north and south) are surrounded by trees, including the Survival Tree, the only one in the area that survived the attacks.
After three bells rang, everyone observed a minute’s silence and the names of those who died were read out, although the remains of more than a thousand dead during the tragedy are still unknown.
On that day, a group of 19 terrorists hijacked four airliners; Two of them crashed into the Twin Towers and one into the Pentagon in that capital, while a fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania.
“We will never forget the 2,977 lives lost at Ground Zero, Shanksville and the Pentagon 22 years ago today,” Harris wrote on his social media account. X (Before Twitter).
“We remain indebted to the heroic first responders and our condolences to the family and friends who lost their loved ones,” he added in his message.
In fact, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin honored those who died in the attacks in a ceremony at the Pentagon this morning, and there was also a memorial service in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
President Joe Biden ordered the flag to be flown at half-staff that day and declared September 11, 2023, Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance.
Biden will stop at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on his way to Washington for the 9/11 commemoration, after attending the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, and visiting Vietnam the day before.
Records show American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower at 8:46 a.m.; At 9:03 a.m., the second aircraft, United Airlines Flight 175, crashed into the South Tower and collapsed immediately.
Shortly thereafter, American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m., and at 10:03 a.m. United Flight 93 crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
For the first time, the United States suffered firsthand the consequences of terrorism, which in many cases was a weapon in the service of Washington itself against other nations in the world.