President Donald J. Trump has proclaimed September 11, 2026, as Patriot Day to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States.
Twenty-five years ago, radical Islamic terrorists hijacked four commercial jetliners and turned them into weapons. At 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower 17 minutes later. Both towers collapsed by 10:28 a.m., killing thousands. Thirty-four minutes after that, American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.
Aboard United Airlines Flight 93, passengers learned of the other attacks through cellphone calls. Todd Beamer, a passenger, led others in reciting the Lord’s Prayer before saying his final words: “Are you ready? Okay. Let’s roll.” The passengers fought the hijackers and forced the plane down in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, 20 minutes from its intended target in Washington.
In total, 2,977 people died that day.
First responders from the New York City Police Department, the Fire Department of the City of New York, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and nearly 100 other agencies worked to rescue survivors and clear rubble. In the days after the attacks, the country united in mourning and resolve. Thousands of service members later deployed overseas in response.
Trump stated that his administration remains committed to maintaining the strongest military in the world and to promoting a foreign policy of peace through strength.
The proclamation directs federal agencies to fly the U.S. flag at half-staff on September 11, 2026, and invites states, territories, and organizations to join the observance.
The proclamation was issued on September 9, 2026.
Note: The proclamation’s sequence of the Pentagon strike is off the historical clock. Official White House text places American Airlines Flight 77 “just 34 minutes later” than the 10:28 a.m. collapse of the North Tower, which would put the Pentagon hit after 11 a.m. In fact, Flight 77 struck the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m.—before either World Trade Center tower fell (South Tower at 9:59 a.m., North Tower at 10:28 a.m.), as recorded by the 9/11 Commission and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The Patriot Day order itself is current and official; that one timestamp in the narrative is not.
