Communities across Arlington will pause Friday to mark 25 years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, with ceremonies honoring the nearly 3,000 people who were killed and the first responders who risked, and, in many cases, later lost their lives.
On Sept. 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaida terrorists hijacked four airplanes, flying two into New York City's World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon. Passengers fought back on the fourth, United Flight 93, which crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The deadliest U.S. terror attack killed 2,977 victims.
While larger observances will be held at the three sites in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, attacked 25 years ago, Arlington events include the following.
Arlington County will mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with a remembrance ceremony from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11, at Fire Station 5, 1750 South Hayes St. in National Landing. The ceremony will honor those who were killed, their families and survivors, as well as the public safety personnel and community members who responded to the attack on the Pentagon and its aftermath.
The program will include remarks from elected officials, a wreath laying and a rose-laying ceremony at the World Trade Center steel beam displayed outside the fire station. More than 200 first responders are expected to attend, including many who responded to the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. Scheduled speakers include U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, state Sen. Barbara Favola, Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti and retired Arlington Deputy County Manager Jim Schwartz, who served as incident commander for the Arlington County Fire Department's Pentagon response
The ceremony has reached capacity, and on-site attendance and parking will be extremely limited. The county is encouraging residents to watch the ceremony via its YouTube livestream or at satellite viewing locations at the Aurora Hills, Central, Columbia Pike and Shirlington libraries and the Ellen M. Bozman Government Center. South Hayes Street between 15th Street South and South Fern Street will be closed from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the event.
Arlington General District Court will also observe a Sept. 11 remembrance Friday, with the court modifying its morning docket schedule for the occasion. Civil and criminal arraignments, bond hearings and traffic dockets will begin at 10 a.m., according to a memorandum from the court's judicial chambers. The court's notice does not provide details about the remembrance itself or indicate whether a ceremony will be open to the public.
Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with a prayer service at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11. The service will take place at the church, 2700 19th St. South in Arlington.
Members of John Lyon VFW Post 3150 will gather at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial at 6 p.m. Friday to commemorate the events of Sept. 11, 2001. The Arlington veterans organization is asking members interested in participating to contact post leadership. Earlier Friday, post members also plan to participate in the 9/11 Day Meal Pack at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
The toll has continued to grow. Thousands of survivors, first responders and people who lived, worked or attended school near the attack sites have developed cancers and other illnesses linked to toxic exposure during the rescue, recovery and cleanup.
The following list of Arlington residents who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks was compiled using information from the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, Arlington County's "Arlington Remembers September 11" resources and the VOICES 9/11 Living Memorial. The Pentagon Memorial honors 184 people killed in the attack on the Pentagon, including 125 military and civilian personnel inside the building and 59 passengers and crew members aboard American Airlines Flight 77.
As is traditional, the names of the 2,977 people killed in the 9/11 attacks and six others who died in the 1993 World Trade Center attack will be read at a ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in Manhattan.
Four former presidents — Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton — are expected to attend the 25th-anniversary ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial in New York City.
President Donald Trump is not expected at Ground Zero. Vice President JD Vance will represent the administration in New York.
The ceremony will be livestreamed. That evening, the annual Tribute in Light will send twin beams into the sky, accompanied this year by a one-hour national broadcast beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern on ABC, Disney+, Hulu, National Geographic and ABC News Live.
Trump will attend the 9/11 observance at the Pentagon, where 184 people were killed when American Airlines Flight 77 was hijacked and flown into the structure
Defense and military leaders traditionally gather for a ceremony centered on the memorial's 184 illuminated benches, one for each victim. Details about public access to the Pentagon ceremony and a possible livestream had not yet been posted on the Pentagon Memorial's official webpage on Tuesday.
The Flight 93 National Memorial, near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, begins with an 8:30 a.m. ceremony that includes the reading of the 40 passengers' and crew members' names, the Bells of Remembrance, and wreath-layings timed to the four attacks.
A second ceremony begins at 1 p.m., and both will be livestreamed. A luminaria ceremony is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12.
Stephen M. Clark, the superintendent of the Flight 93 National Memorial, will lead the morning remembrance events. Confirmed speakers at the afternoon ceremony include Gordie Felt, the brother of Flight 93 passenger Edward P. Felt, and Capt. Morrie Wiener (Ret.), the pilot who flew Flight 93 prior to September 2001.
Trump administration officials are expected to attend and lay wreaths on behalf of the federal government, though top executive leaders are split across other national sites.
Trump hosted first responders and FDNY officials at the White House on Tuesday ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. The event featured a 16,900-pound steel beam recovered from the World Trade Center's South Tower and carried across the country by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, a nonprofit created in memory of FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller, who was killed responding to the attacks.
The foundation provides mortgage-free and specially adapted homes to families of fallen or severely injured first responders and military members, assists homeless veterans and supports 9/11 education and remembrance programs. Its 10,500-mile "Steel Across America" tour has taken the beam to more than 35 cities in at least 21 states and will conclude Friday at Ground Zero.
Sign up for free local newsletters and alerts for the
Arlington Patch
Patch.com is the nationwide leader in hyperlocal news.
Visit Patch.com to find your town today.