Fairfax Count 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, Fairfax County events include the following:
Fairfax County 25th Anniversary 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony: Fairfax County will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at 10:10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 11, at Fairfax County Public Safety Headquarters, 12099 Government Center Parkway in Fairfax. Deputy Fire Chief Bill Betz, who responded to the Pentagon on 9/11, will open the ceremony. Speakers will include Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi, Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey McKay, Fire Chief John Butler, Police Chief Kevin Davis and Sheriff Stacey Kincaid. The ceremony will also honor Master Police Officer Donald Gotthardt Jr. and Fire Battalion Chief Michael Tamillow, two Fairfax County public safety members who later died from 9/11-related causes. The public may attend or watch a livestream.
9/11: 25 Years Later — Chantilly: The Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, 14390 Air and Space Museum Parkway, will host a program from 8 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, featuring first responders and aviation personnel who experienced the events of Sept. 11 at the Pentagon and Reagan National Airport. The program will examine their experiences that day and how the attacks changed aviation and emergency response.
Vienna 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony: American Legion Dyer-Gunnell Post 180 and the Town of Vienna will hold a remembrance ceremony at 9 a.m. Friday, Sept. 11, on the lawn of the Freeman Store and Museum, 131 Church St. Northeast. The annual ceremony remembers those killed in the terrorist attacks and honors the heroes of Sept. 11.
Great Falls 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony: A remembrance ceremony will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11, at the Great Falls Freedom Memorial behind the Great Falls Library, 9830 Georgetown Pike. The memorial honors the six Great Falls residents who died in the Sept. 11 attacks, as well as others who died or suffered as a result of the attacks and their aftermath.
"Come From Away" 25th Anniversary Screening — McLean: The Alden Theatre, 1234 Ingleside Ave., will present a special screening of "Come From Away" at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11, to mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11. The musical tells the story of thousands of airline passengers stranded in Gander, Newfoundland, after U.S. airspace was closed following the attacks.
Northern Virginia 9/11 Heroes Run — Oakton: The Northern Virginia 9/11 Heroes Run 5K will take place Sunday, Sept. 13, at Oakton Elementary School. An opening ceremony is scheduled for 7:40 a.m., followed by the race at 8 a.m. The event honors those killed on Sept. 11 as well as first responders, military personnel and others who served in the aftermath of the attacks.
25th Anniversary of 9/11 Honor Walk — Fort Belvoir: The National Museum of the United States Army at Fort Belvoir will host a 9/11 Honor Walk Sept. 11-13. The free outdoor event will remember those killed in the attacks and recognize first responders and military service members who answered the call in their aftermath.
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.
At least 29 people from Fairfax County communities died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, including victims killed at the Pentagon, aboard American Airlines Flight 77 and at the World Trade Center.
The following list was compiled by cross-checking names and communities with the Naval History and Heritage Command's official list of Pentagon and Flight 77 fatalities, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum's victim records, Fairfax County records and local memorial records.
The list includes residents identified with Fairfax County communities and its incorporated towns. Alexandria and Falls Church addresses were excluded to avoid uncertainty over whether those addresses were located in Fairfax County or the neighboring independent cities.
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.
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