11/09/2026
Today marks 25 years since September 11, 2001.
It’s hard to believe it has been a quarter of a century.
I was 14 years old when it happened. Like so many people, I can still remember that day, the confusion, the fear, and watching something unfold that, at that age, was difficult to fully comprehend. It became one of those moments where you remember where you were and how the world suddenly felt different afterward.
Nearly 3,000 people went to work, boarded airplanes, responded to an emergency, or simply started an ordinary Tuesday morning and never came home.
Today and every day, we remember them.
We remember the firefighters, police officers, EMTs, dispatchers, and ordinary people who ran toward danger to help complete strangers. We remember those who lost their lives that day, those whose lives were forever changed, and those who later lost their lives from illnesses and injuries connected to the rescue, recovery, and cleanup efforts.
We also remember the men and women of our Armed Forces who answered the call in the years that followed. Thousands left their families and lives at home to serve our country in the wars that followed September 11. Many never came home. Many more returned carrying wounds, both visible and invisible, that would remain with them for the rest of their lives.
And we say thank you to the men and women who continue to serve and protect our communities and our country every single day. To our first responders and members of our Armed Forces, past and present, and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice, thank you.
Twenty-five years later, may the passing of time never diminish the significance of that day, the lives that were lost, or the sacrifices made in the years that followed.
September 11, 2001.
Never forget.
