Ceremonies were held Friday in New York City, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Friday marks 25 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, which claimed the lives of 2,977 people at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Another 9,000 people have died from 9/11-related illnesses over the last 25 years.
Victims' families, first responders and politicians gathered for annual remembrance ceremonies at the memorials in downtown Manhattan, the Pentagon in Virginia, and Shanksville, as Americans across the country pause to remember and reflect.
"9/11 Tribute in Light: Live from Lower Manhattan," a one-hour ABC News multiplatform live special, premieres on Friday, Sept. 11, at 8:00 p.m. EDT across ABC, Disney+, Hulu, National Geographic, ABC Owned Television Stations livestreams and ABC News Live.
For nearly 25 years, ABC News has followed the journey of 9/11 survivor Florence Jones. Her friend, Jill Maurer-Campbell, perished that day, leaving behind her 10-month-old son, Jake. ABC News' David Muir joined Florence and Jake as they visited the reflecting pools together for the first time.
ABC News' Diane Sawyer reunited with some of the children of 9/11 who she first met as babies, born after their fathers died. Today, they carry on the legacies of their fathers.
Joshua Powell, the son of New York firefighter Shawn E. Powell, described the ways he still discovers things about his father, recounting picking up the saxophone and then learning his dad also played the saxophone.
"It's like I'm learning about him by just living my own life," said Powell, an EMT on his way to becoming a paramedic with plans for medical school in his future.
Former ABC News correspondent Ann Compton recalled being in the Florida classroom with former President George W. Bush when the Twin Towers were attacked and the frantic flight with White House staff and other reporters to safety.
"The Secret Service wanted him out of there," Compton, who was the press pool reporter that day, said of Bush. "He made a quick statement. We raced to the airport. Air Force One at that point when we reached the airport in Sarasota, the engines were roaring."
Air Force One was scheduled to fly back to the White House immediately but during the flight the Pentagon was attacked, she recalled.
During this time in the air, reporters had limited communications but were able to watch news feeds from the jet's TVs. It was there they saw the towers fall.
"It was horrifying. I didn't worry about Air Force One or our safety, I worried about what 20, 30,000 people in those skyscrapers, and we were watching them fall to their death," she said.
More than 9,400 people have died from 9/11-related illnesses -- according to recently published data from the WTC Health Program -- which is three times higher than the 2,977 who died in the attacks in New York, at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Data from the WTC Health Program shows about 50,000 cancer diagnoses have been certified.
Many of these people are members of the FDNY and NYPD who responded to the attacks or assisted in cleanup operations, but they also include civilians -- those who lived, worked, went to school or passed through the area.
"The truth is, 9/11 didn't end on 9/11," Michael Barasch, managing partner at Barasch & McGarry, a law firm that specializes in helping 9/11 responders and survivors get compensation and health benefits, told ABC News. "I personally lost dozens of clients, mostly firefighters and police officers, on 9/11, but I have lost thousands of clients since."
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