'We will never, ever forget': Trump renews sacred oath on 25th anniversary of 9/11

Washington DC: US President Donald Trump on Friday renewed the "sacred oath" to remember the victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, saying the United States will never be the same after the events that reshaped the country a quarter of a century ago.

Speaking at the Pentagon on the 25th anniversary of the attacks, Trump said, "Today, we renew the sacred oath that we first swore in their names a quarter of a century ago: We will never, ever forget."

Reflecting on the anguish caused by the attacks, Trump said, "For anyone who lived it, no words can do justice to the anguish of that day."


He said the country must remember both the evil of the attacks and the way Americans responded in their aftermath.

"We cannot forget that moment of immense and horrible evil that took place in this world, bent on the destruction of all that is good. But this morning, we also remember how America responded to that wickedness. On days like 9/11, we learn what a country is truly made of," Trump said.

The US President also paid tribute to those who responded to the attacks and urged Americans to preserve the values demonstrated in the aftermath.

"No one can ever prepare for a day like 9/11 - but we can always choose to be the kind of nation the world saw in those days after. We can raise our children to know that their country is good, that their fathers are brave, and that our flag is a symbol of justice and freedom. We can be a nation whose heroes are not fanatics for an abstract cause, but the kind who race into buildings and give their lives on a Tuesday morning for strangers they've never met," he added.

The 25th anniversary is being marked across the United States with remembrance ceremonies honouring the nearly 3,000 people killed in the coordinated attacks.

In Rockville, Maryland, multiple events were held to mark the exact moments of the attacks, with floral tributes laid and bells tolled in remembrance.

Council member Marissa Valeri recalled her personal experience of September 11, saying she was working on Capitol Hill when she learned that a family friend was aboard the plane that struck the Pentagon.

"As an American, 9/11 means a lot of different things. In my own personal experience, I worked on Capitol Hill on 9/11, where I found out that a family friend was on the plane that hit the Pentagon. I spent the whole day stuck on Capitol Hill. The metro was shut down, and fighter jets were scrambling all day long... I'm very sad that we don't have 25 years of hope in the community and the people caring for one another. We lost that lesson so quickly, and I hope that it does not take another tragedy like September 11 to regain that sense of truly what being American is all about," Valeri said.

Another District Council member also spoke at the remembrance event, saying, "I'm here today to honour the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack and to remember along with my fellow elected officials and community members here today... One friend of a friend who was stuck at the stairwell and just remembering what even I was doing that day while I was clerking on what is now the Maryland Supreme Court and having to continually run messages to then Chief Judge Robert Bell to let him know what was happening outside the courtroom because the court was in session."

On September 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger aircraft in a coordinated attack against the United States. Two planes were flown into the World Trade Centre's Twin Towers in New York, while a third struck the Pentagon, the headquarters of the US Department of Defense, in Arlington, Virginia.

The fourth aircraft crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew attempted to regain control of the plane.

The attacks killed 2,977 people, according to official US figures, making September 11 one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in history.

The destruction of the Twin Towers and the attack on the Pentagon triggered an immediate national crisis and ushered in a new era of US counterterrorism operations, military engagements and heightened domestic security measures.

At Ground Zero in New York, the site where the World Trade Center towers once stood, an annual remembrance ceremony continues to honour the victims. The names of those killed are read aloud by family members and loved ones, preserving a solemn tradition that has become central to the country's 9/11 commemorations.

The attacks were orchestrated by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and followed years of confrontation between the terrorist organisation and the United States. The assault on American soil prompted Washington to launch a global campaign against al-Qaeda and its affiliates, beginning with the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001.