Americans are looking back at the tragedy and legacy of 9/11, as the U.S. marks 22 years since terrorist attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and injured thousands of others at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
The hijacked plane attacks shook the nation and heightened domestic fears.
Americans honored the day with moments of silence, tears and ceremonies held at firehouses, city halls, attack sites and elsewhere in commemoration of one of the deadliest attacks on the U.S. in its history.
"For those of us who lost people on that day, that day is still happening. Everybody else moves on. And you find a way to go forward, but that day is always happening for you," Edward Edelman said at New York's World Trade Center, where he honored his slain brother-in-law, Daniel McGinley, according to The Associated Press.
President Joe Biden, on his way back from a trip to Vietnam and India, marked the day at a military base in Anchorage, Alaska.
At the main site of the tragedy, Vice President Kamala Harris joined the ceremony at ground zero in New York at the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum plaza. Loved ones of those lost took part in an hourslong reading of the victims’ names.
James Giaccone signed up to read his brother’s name again this year. Joseph Giaccone was 43 years old when he died on that horrific day.
"If their name is spoken out loud, they don’t disappear,” James Giaccone told AP.
"I hope I never see the day when they minimize this," he said. "It's a day that changed history."
President Biden is the first president to mark 9/11 in Alaska, or anywhere in the Western U.S., according to AP. Most presidents have marked the day from one of the attack sites, while some in recent years have done so from the White House lawn.
First lady Jill Biden was due to lay a wreath at the Sept. 11 memorial at the Pentagon.
While September 11, 2001, claimed many lives, deaths continue to climb years after that tragic day.
As of this year, the number of first responders who died from post-9/11 illnesses is now close to the number of firefighters who died on the day of the attack.
According to the Uniformed Firefighters Association, 341 New York City fire department first responders have died from post-9/11 illnesses. A total of 343 New York firefighters died during the day of the attacks on the World Trade Center.
Exposure to the dust and pollutants released during the attacks has been linked to risk of cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and cancer.
SEE MORE: Remains of 2 more 9/11 victims identified 22 years after attacks
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