On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, a divided U.S. gathers to remember and grieve
On the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the United States reflects on the lasting impact of the tragedy, including the loss of life and the subsequent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The nation remains divided while commemorating the heroism and trauma that reshaped American life.
Why it matters
It provides a historical perspective on how a singular event fundamentally altered U.S. foreign policy, military engagement, and domestic social cohesion.
When the 9/11 terrorist attacks began on a blue-sky morning 25 years ago, the Rev. Eric Olsen was working in upstate New York. The National Guard unit where Olsen served as chaplain scrambled to deploy and served for months on a security detail around the massive pile of wreckage at ground zero, site of the World Trade Center's fallen twin towers in New York City.
The Picture Show They lost loved ones in 9/11. We invited them to leave a voicemail in their memory "There was all this uncertainty," Olsen recalls. "Are there going to be more attacks? Is this just the forerunner?"
A quarter century later, a politically and culturally divided United States is commemorating a day of violence, loss and heroism that altered the trajectory of the nation, sending people's lives spiraling in directions they could never have expected.
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