09/11/2026
Today marks 25 years since the attacks of September 11, 2001.
On this solemn anniversary, we remember the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives that day, but we also remember that the human toll of September 11 did not end when the smoke cleared.
More than 7,000 U.S. service members would later lose their lives in the post-9/11 wars.
Thousands of first responders, recovery workers, survivors, and others exposed to the toxic dust, smoke, and debris at Ground Zero have battled cancers, respiratory diseases, and other serious illnesses in the years since. More than 10,000 FDNY members alone are certified with at least one 9/11-related physical health condition, and more than 400 FDNY members have died from World Trade Center-related illnesses.
For so many of us, the memories of September 11 remain vivid even a quarter-century later. We remember the lives taken that morning, the extraordinary courage of those who ran toward danger, the men and women who served our country in the years that followed, and those who continue to live with the physical and emotional consequences of that day.
We honor those we lost.
We honor the first responders who ran toward danger when others were running away.
We honor the men and women who answered the call to serve our country in the years that followed.
And we remember the thousands who continue to carry the physical and emotional scars of September 11 to this day.
Twenty-five years later, the passage of time has not diminished their sacrifice or our responsibility to remember.
May we never forget what happened that day, the lives that were lost, the courage that was shown, and the unity our country found in the days that followed.
We will never forget. US
- Steven Schwartz
