Families of the nearly 3,000 killed gathered in Lower Manhattan to read names, lay flowers, and remember those lost and those still suffering from related illnesses.
On Thursday morning, at 8:46 a.m., silence swept over New York City as bells tolled and bagpipes played at the World Trade Center memorial plaza.
It was the 24th year that families, survivors, and leaders gathered to honor the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Relatives took turns reading aloud the names of victims as mourners walked the reflecting pools, placing flowers and American flags along the bronze-etched names.
The toll of 9/11 continues to grow.
Toxic dust and debris from Ground Zero have led to cancers and other illnesses among first responders and residents. The CDC says more than 24,000 responders have developed cancer, and nearly 7,000 survivors and workers have died of all causes since 2001.
On Wednesday, firefighters gathered at a memorial wall near Ground Zero to draw attention to cuts in federal health programs. They honored 409 FDNY members who have died of 9/11-related illnesses, including 39 in the last year alone.
“As we stand in the shadows of this beautiful monument, sometimes I feel this monument overshadows the lingering effects of what occurred after that day,” said Lt. James Brosi, president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association.
For many, remembrance was deeply personal.
Valentina Lygin, 78, placed a flower beside her son Alexander’s name at the memorial pool. He was 28 years old when he died in the North Tower, working as a computer programmer on the 104th floor. He had planned to marry that October.
“We just said, ‘We are here to get our son and take him home,’” she recalled of that day, before his driver’s license was later recovered from the debris. Now living in North Carolina, she returns to New York twice each year — on Sept. 11 and on Alexander’s birthday.
“What I want is for people to remember,” she said.
The anniversary also underscored how much New York has changed.
Lower Manhattan’s population has more than doubled since 2000, and the city is on the verge of electing its first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani — who was nine years old when the towers fell.
Still, politics hovered in the background. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, running for mayor, used the week to highlight his support from a 9/11 first responder, while rival campaigns traded barbs over past comments made about the attacks.
Hundreds of leaders joined families at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum on Thursday, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams, former mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg, and FBI Director Kash Patel.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were scheduled to attend a separate memorial at the Pentagon.
The reading of names in Lower Manhattan stretched for hours, punctuated by five moments of silence marking the times when each plane struck, when each tower fell, and when Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania.
Two dozen years later, the pain remains, but so does the promise: never to forget.
Featured image credit: Robert J. Fisch / Anthony Quintano
