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A quarter of a century after the September 11 attacks of 2001, which marked an era, the United States is striving to preserve the memory of the trauma that is fading as the proportion of Americans who did not live through it firsthand increases.
President Donald Trump will pay tribute at the Pentagon instead of in New York, where the attacks on the World Trade Center towers with hijacked passenger planes caused most of the 2,977 victims recorded that day.
But Vice President JD Vance and Trump's four predecessors—Democrats Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton, as well as Republican George Bush, who was president at the time of the attacks—will be at "Ground Zero" in lower Manhattan next Friday.
The New York Times said the reason Trump will not attend is that he would not be allowed to give a speech at the site, something strictly forbidden to ensure the commemoration remains non-partisan. The president called that information "fabricated."
The anniversary marks a turning point for the United States and the world.
"Many of my generation remember exactly where we were on that horrible day" in 2001, said 59-year-old Beth Hillman, president of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
However, today "100 million Americans had not even been born or are too young to remember" those tragic events.
- Younger people are "more inquisitive" -
Having placed a great emphasis on keeping the memory alive, her institution is now focusing on outreach, education, and engaging younger generations.
Trained volunteers, including first responders, connect with audiences who have known the disaster only through their parents or school.
"Even for those who weren't here, but were alive at the time, it is much easier to understand the magnitude of what happened," 32-year-old Logan Miller, who lost an uncle and a grandfather as a result of the attacks, told AFP.
Miller is one of many volunteers who share their experiences at the museum, which welcomes 2.4 million visitors a year.
Young people are "more inquisitive" and ask more questions than their elders, who, according to Miller, sometimes hesitate to ask him for fear of giving offense.
"I wasn't born at the time, and yet it was important for me to be here, to make this trip," said Ignacio Gaete, 22, a Chilean visiting the museum and the memorial, which consists of two large reflecting pools built in the footprints of the Twin Towers.
Gaete noted that, although young people do not have memories of 9/11 like his father, "I think it can transcend generations."
But that transcendence requires preserving and educating, according to Holly Kafka, who is visiting Manhattan from Chicago with her husband.
"Our younger generation (...) is always in this little rat race, trying to keep up with social media," the 61-year-old woman said.
"We have to stop them and tell them, 'Come here and experience it in person.'"
- 9,400 more deaths -
As they do every year at Ground Zero starting at 8:40 AM (12:40 GMT), the time shortly before American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower, family members will read the long list of names of their loved ones.
At night, two beams of light will be projected into the sky from lower Manhattan, symbolizing the two towers.
Nineteen Al Qaeda members hijacked four planes on that nearly cloudless day in 2001.
Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center, causing the collapse of the iconic 110-story buildings.
A third plane struck the Pentagon, while a fourth plane—which apparently targeted the U.S. Capitol or the White House—crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers confronted the hijackers.
Beyond those who died on September 11, more than 9,400 people have died from 9/11-related illnesses, according to the federal program created to provide medical care to those affected.
The trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the attacks and one of the top lieutenants to Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was later killed by the United States, was recently scheduled for June 2028 at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo, Cuba. He has been held there for 20 years.
[Publicidad]