The Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harristogether with the mayor of New York, Eric Adamsand the governor of the state, Kathy HochulThis Monday, at “Ground Zero” in the Big Apple, led the commemoration of the 22nd anniversary of September 11th, the worst terrorist attack in the history of the country.
The most novel thing this year is that two new victims have been identified, a man and a woman, whose names were not released at the express request of the families, making them victims numbers 1,948 and 1,649 advanced DNA testingas Mayor Adams announced on Friday, emphasizing that these are the first identifications in two years.
There are still about 1,100 human remains stored there to be identified National September 11th Memorial Museumlocated next to the spot where the towers stood until 2001.
The city’s chief medical examiner, Jason Graham, recalled that this is “the largest and most complex forensic investigation in our country’s history,” but nevertheless “we will continue our mission (of identification) tirelessly, taking advantage of the latest technological advances.” ” ” .
Although today is a normal working day, several signs around the country remind us of this date that will forever mark its history: flags at half-mast in official places, tributes in every fire station, a double beam of light at the place where the Twin Towers and the annual public reading of all the people who died in this multiple attack.
Every September 11th, the two moats that replace the towers on that Monday and in which The names of those killed in the attack are engraved They are filled with small American flags and yellow roses in both sober and solemn events that last several hours.
“The others get on with their lives”
“For those of us who lost someone that day, that day is still happening. The others move on with their lives. But you find a way to carry on, even if that day is always present,” Edward told reporters as he arrived at the ceremony. Edelman, brother-in-law of Daniel McGinley, was killed in one of the towers.
Although the tribute is primarily celebrated in New York, there are also events in New York Pentagon and Shaksville (Pennsylvania), where two more planes crashed that day, causing a total of almost 3,000 deaths.
President, Joe Bidennoted on X (formerly Twitter) that American history itself changed 22 years ago, “but what it could not and will not change is the character of the nation.”
“Today we remember the 2,977 precious lives stolen from us on September 11th and remember all that was lost to fire and ash that September morning,” said the Democratic president, who was vice president of Barack Obama (2009-2017).
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in turn, noted in a statement that the memory of those who died “reminds us why we must continue to fight those who commit acts of terrorism.”
“Since then, we have worked closely with allies around the world to end the scourge of terrorism and ensure terrorists are held accountable for their crimes. “The United States will continue to defend our homeland, our people and our allies.”
From the Pentagon Memorial in Arlington Minister of DefenseLloyd Austin, in turn, recalled the 184 deaths both at these facilities and on Flight 77, the third to be hijacked in these attacks.
“We will always honor the memory of our fallen colleagues. We will always be with their families and we will always strive to be worthy of the memory of those we lost,” he added.
