September 11 anniversary: The United States marks 22 years since terror attacks

Americans are pausing to look back at the horror and long-lasting effects of September 11 as the country marks the 22nd anniversary of the most destructive terrorist attack to ever hit the country on Monday. People are assembling at memorials, fire stations, city halls, and several other venues across the country to pay their respects.

These remembrances range from the actual assault locations, such as the Pentagon, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the World Trade Centre in New York, to as far away as Alaska and beyond.

President Joe Biden is slated to attend a ceremony at a military post in Anchorage as part of his trip from Vietnam and India to Washington, DC . His presence is a sombre reminder that, no matter how far away, the effects of September 11 were felt across the entire nation.

Nearly 3,000 people tragically lost their lives in the hijackings and subsequent airline attacks, which also had a significant impact on American foreign policy and domestic security concerns. These events will forever be remembered in the history of the country.

New Jersey’s Monmouth County, which was home to some of the victims, made the date a holiday this year for county employees so they could attend commemorations.

As another way of marking the anniversary, many Americans do volunteer work on what Congress has designated both Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

At ground zero, vice president Kamala Harris is due to join the ceremony on the National September 11 Memorial and Museum plaza. The event will not feature remarks from political figures, instead giving the podium to victims’ relatives for an hours-long reading of the names of the dead.

James Giaccone signed up to read again this year in memory of his brother, Joseph Giaccone, 43. The family attends the ceremony every year to hear Joseph’s name. He said in a recent interview:  “If their name is spoken out loud, they don’t disappear. I hope I never see the day when they minimise this. It’s a day that changed history.”

Mr Biden, a Democrat, will be the first president to commemorate September 11 in Alaska, or anywhere in the western US.

He and his predecessors have gone to one or another of the attack sites in most years, though Republican George W Bush and Democrat Barack Obama each marked the anniversary on the White House lawn at times.

Mr Obama followed one of those observances by recognising the military with a visit to Fort Meade in Maryland.

First lady Jill Biden is due to lay a wreath at the September 11 memorial at the Pentagon.

In Pennsylvania, where one of the hijacked jets crashed after passengers tried to storm the cockpit, a remembrance and wreath-laying is scheduled at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stoystown operated by the National Park Service.

Ms Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, is expected to attend the ceremony.