9/11 25th anniversary live updates: Families gather for ceremonies at World Trade Center, Pentagon, Shanksville
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.
Key Headlines
- After thousands of deaths, first responders are still navigating health effects
- ABC News goes inside 9/11 Memorial & Museum
- Former President George W. Bush posts his 9/11 art on social media
- Victim's son concludes reading of names by speaking out against hate
- Victim's sister pleads with politicians to recognize 9/11 as day of remembrance
New 7th moment of silence honors victims of 9/11 illnesses
For the first time, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum added a seventh moment of silence at this year's ceremony to honor those who have died of illnesses related to their time at or near the World Trade Center site.
For the past 24 years, there have been six moments of silence: two to mark the times when the planes struck the World Trade Center towers; one to mark when a plane struck the Pentagon; one to mark when a plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania; and the two times the World Trade Center towers collapsed. Each moment of silence is followed by a bell toll.
This new, seventh moment of silence was observed at the conclusion of the reading of the names and will be a permanent part of the annual ceremony.
More than 9,000 people have now died from 9/11-related illnesses, approximately three times the number killed on Sept. 11, 2001, according to the World Trade Center Health Program.
Click here to read more.
'We will never forget'
Family members of 9/11 victims are continuing to read their names at the downtown Manhattan ceremony.
The granddaughter of FDNY Lt. Robert Wallace said, “Not many moments go by where I don’t think about you.”
“Papa, even though we never met, I see you in everything. In mom, in Nana … and your seven grandkids,” she said.
“We will never forget your heroic sacrifice,” she said.
Cantor Fitzgerald employee William Raub's daughter was just 6 years old on 9/11.
"I can still feel how much you love me 25 years later,” she said, “and I’m so lucky and so proud to be your daughter. We miss you so much."
The wife of Cantor Fitzgerald employee John Candela said, "Thank you, God, for putting John in my life and for the peace I have knowing that I will see John again in heaven."
“John, I love you tons. I miss your hugs. God bless us all and God bless America."
The names of all the victims can be seen here on the 9/11 Memorial & Museum website.
Flight 93 victims honored at Shanksville ceremony
Hundreds of people gathered in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to mark the 25th anniversary of United Flight 93's crash.
The family members of the 40 passengers and crew who were killed read their names, accompanied by bells.
The color guard folded a U.S. flag and placed it on a giant rock near the edge of a grove of hemlocks. That rock is where some of the very last pieces of Flight 93 came to rest.
-ABC News' Stephanie Ramos and Janice McDonald
'Thank you for your sacrifice'
Family members are continuing to read the names of 9/11 victims at the downtown Manhattan ceremony.
Patricia Smith, whose mother, NYPD officer Moira Smith was killed while responding to the World Trade Center, said her mom "died the way she lived -- surrounded by people she wanted to help, doing the job that she loved."
"Mom, we love you and we miss you every day. I’m so proud to be your daughter and I’m grateful for the example you set," she said. "… Thank you for your courage, thank you for setting the standard, and most of all, thank you for your sacrifice."