On Tuesday, ceremonies across the country will commemorate the 17 years that have passed since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and honor the thousands of people who lost their lives.
The 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City will be closed to the public until 3 p.m. EDT on the anniversary, but the public is invited to watch a live broadcast of the private ceremony, which will begin at 8:40 a.m. EDT. It will be broadcast on the museum and memorial's Facebook page.
At 8:40 a.m. EDT on September 11, 2001, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) alerted the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Northeast Air Defense Sector that American Airlines Flight 11 had been hijacked. Six minutes later, the hijackers crashed the plane into floors 93-99 of the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
The memorial will stay open until midnight for a special viewing of the Tribute in Light and normal hours for the museum, which is closed on Tuesday, will resume on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the United Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania will also host a ceremony beginning at 9:45 a.m. EDT. At 10:03 a.m. EDT, the time the plane crashed into the field, the names of the passengers and crew members will be read. The Bells of Remembrance will also be rung in memory of all the lives that were lost when they heroically attempted to retake the plane.
President Donald Trump and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, a Navy SEAL veteran, will both deliver remarks at the ceremony. First lady Melania Trump is also expected to accompany the president to the ceremony.
The event is free and open to the public, but for those who can't make it to the memorial ceremony in person, a live stream is being provided by Earth Cam. It can be accessed on the Friends of Flight 93 website beginning at 9:45 a.m. EDT. The final piece of the memorial, the "Tower of Voices," which consists of 40 wind chimes and is 93 feet tall, was completed this summer. A ceremony took place on Sunday to dedicate the finished product.
On September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists hijacked four planes, crashing into each of the Twin Towers, one into the Pentagon and one into an empty field in Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people from 93 different countries were killed during the coordinated attacks.
At the time of the attacks, President George W. Bush was reading to a classroom of children at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida.
"Today our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature," Bush said during a national address. "And we responded with the best of America, with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could."
Last year, Trump hosted a moment of silence at the White House in honor of all the lives that were lost and delivered remarks at a memorial ceremony at the Pentagon.
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