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Twenty years to the day after a pair of hijacked airliners destroyed the World Trade Center towers, another plane punched a gaping hole in the Pentagon and a fourth passenger jet crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passengers sought to regain control from hijackers, Americans across the country reflected on the events that forever changed their country.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed on Sept. 11, 2001. The event not only sparked enormously costly wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq, but also spawned a domestic war on terrorism, rewriting the rules on 

 and surveillance in the U.S., the repercussions of which continue to reverberate.

People gathered in lower Manhattan at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the spot where the twin towers once stood. Three presidents — President Joe Biden, former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton — and their wives attended. They wore blue ribbons and held their hands over their hearts as a procession marched a flag through the memorial and stood somberly side by side as the names of the dead were read off by family members and stories and remembrances were shared.

The president and first lady also met with former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his partner, Diana Taylor, according to the White House. They greeted FBI Director Christopher Wray, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the New York congressional delegation and many other current and former state and local officials as they arrived at the memorial.

At a ceremony at Shanksville, Pa., former President George W. Bush remembered the day that "the world was loud with carnage and sirens. And then silent with voices." 

Bush lamented the current era of political division, seeming alluding to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. 

"We have seen growing evidence that the dangers to our country can come, not only across borders, but from violence that gathers within," Bush said. "There is little cultural overlap between violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home ... they are children of the same foul spirit, and it is our continuing duty to confront them."

Also in Shanksville, Vice President Kamala Harris called the site "hallowed ground."

Flight 93 taught us "about the courage of those on board, who gave everything. About the resolve of the first responders, who risked everything. About the resilience of the American people," she said.

Echoing Bush, Harris said that in the days after the attacks, "we were all reminded that unity is possible in America. We were reminded, too, that unity is imperative in America. It is essential to our shared prosperity, our national security, and to our standing in the world." 

The Bidens were also to attend a wreath-laying ceremony at Shanksville, as well as the Pentagon, where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed.

Former President Donald Trump released a video message Saturday morning, largely lambasting Biden's handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Trump, who visited Shanksville on Friday, is also 

 to visit ground zero Saturday afternoon before 

 at a boxing match at a casino in Hollywood, Fla.

See more NPR coverage of the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

At ground zero, the national anthem was performed in a solemn ceremony and then, in what has become an annual tradition, a moment of silence was observed at 8:46 a.m., when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the north tower.

Another moment of silence was observed at 9:03 a.m., when United Flight 175 hit the south tower. Bruce Springsteen, with an acoustic guitar and harmonica, took the dais to perform “I'll See You In My Dreams

Two similar moments of silence followed, marking the collapse of the south tower at 9:59 a.m. and the north tower at 10:28 a.m.

More than 2,600 people were killed in and around the World Trade Center buildings. At the Pentagon, 184 died and 40 more were killed in Pennsylvania.

A moment of silence was observed at 9:37 a.m., marking when American Airlines Flight 77 careened into the west face of the Pentagon. A ceremony there was hosted by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley.

In London, acting ambassador to the United Kingdom Philip Reeker, attended 

 at Windsor Castle, where the U.S. national anthem was performed. Reeker said Americans would be "forever grateful" for the "enduring friendship" between the two countries.

, Biden said that in the days after the attacks in 2001, "we saw heroism everywhere — in places expected and unexpected."

"We also saw something all too rare: a true sense of national unity," he said. 

Minnesota News

Scott Neuman

Author

On the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the nation paused to remember. Ceremonies took place at memorials in New York City; Shanksville, Pa.; and at the Pentagon — as well as in communities across Minnesota.

New York police officers and firefighters hold a U.S. flag

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Minnesota 9/11 Day of Remembrance Ceremony

A day of remembrance and reflection, 20 years after the 9/11 attacks

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