Trump Joins Howard Lutnick at 9/11 Memorial as Victims’ Names Are Read

Across Long Island and New York City, ceremonies marked 25 years since the Sept. 11 attacks, including a reading of victims' names at Ground Zero and a sunrise ceremony on the beach.

“U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who grew up in Jericho”

Newsday

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who grew up in Jericho and was CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald when the attack on the World Trade Center killed 658 of its 960 employees, wiped away tears at the 9/11 memorial.

6abc Philadelphia

At the Pentagon’s 9/11 remembrance ceremony, President Donald Trump said, "Time has not dimmed the horror of that day," and added, "Today we renew the sacred oath that we first swore in their names a quarter century ago — we will never, ever, forget."

Trump said the 25 years since the attack "have shown us the even greater power of the American spirit to endure and prevail and to win," and he was joined by First Lady Melania Trump.

The reading of the names paused at 10:28 a.m. when a bell tolled six times for the fall of the north tower, then resumed immediately after as families paid tributes to loved ones who died 25 years ago.

In New York, Thomas Tracy and others described how first responders, workers and residents raced to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 and how their lives were forever altered, with memories now mixed with pain, trauma and profound gratitude.

NYPD Emergency Service Unit Officers Gregory Welch and Everald Taylor said every day after 9/11 is both a blessing and a curse, and Taylor, 58, said, "Stop and smell the roses and appreciate what I have no matter how little it is or how big it may be."

930 WFMD Free Talk

Cheryl Hall, a retired Con Edison worker who helped bring back power to Ground Zero, said she was diagnosed with 9/11-related uterine cancer in 2021 and underwent surgery in 2022, and she told the New York Daily News, "Once I reach my five-year mark, I’ll be considered cancer-free."

Hall said that in 2023, cancers of the uterus were officially added to the ever-evolving list of 9/11 illnesses, and she described receiving calls from others after the federal list change.

Harry Pincus, a SoHo artist and self-proclaimed radical and anti-war protester, said, "I suddenly realized that the world was an evil place," after jumbo jets slammed into the World Trade Center.

Across the country, educators and families are trying to teach 9/11 to students who were not alive for it, with California schools and universities marking the anniversary through memorials, moments of silence and academic discussions.

“"I just remember, as a kid, that there was a lot of chaos. That’s all."”

Los Angeles Times

Trent Nettles, a 27-year-old Advanced Placement U.S. history teacher, told his students at Alliance Cindy & Bill Simon Technology High School in Watts, "I just remember, as a kid, that there was a lot of chaos. That’s all."

In Bristol Township, Pa., Jamie Huber, a history teacher at Harry S. Truman High School, recalled that on Sept. 11, 2001, it was "second period" and he watched the second tower get hit by the plane as his 15-year-old students looked on.

Huber said, "How do you teach 9/11?" and added, "It’s really tough. It really is. To them, it’s no different from you and I learning about Pearl Harbor or the Vietnam War."

In Michigan, Local 4’s conversation with Metro Detroit educators framed the challenge as younger generations treating Sept. 11 as a history lesson rather than a memory, while WPTV described first responders and survivors reflecting on how the day continues to shape lives, careers and communities.