US commemorates 9/11 victims and heroes 23 years after tragic day

The U.S. is remembering the victims and heroes of 9/11, 23 years after terror attacks on the nation left nearly 3,000 dead on Sept. 11, 2001.

Ceremonies were taking place at the tragic sites of the attacks, including in New York City, the Pentagon, and at the site of a plane crash in Pennsylvania.

Family members read names of lost loved ones at a commemoration ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, the site of the World Trade Center towers.

Fresh off a presidential debate, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump put politics aside and shook hands at the ceremony. Also among them were President Joe Biden, vice presidential candidate JD Vance and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Yuki Iwamura/AP

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President Biden, Harris and Trump also participated in wreath-laying ceremonies in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to honor the 40 plane passengers and crew members who died when Flight 93 crashed.

Gene J. Puskar/AP

Jared Wickerham/AP

The passengers are widely regarded as heroes for fighting off the terrorists, preventing them from flying the plane into the U.S. Capitol.

During the ceremonies, six moments of silence were observed, acknowledging when each of the Twin Towers was struck and fell, the time of the attack on the Pentagon, and the crash of Flight 93.

The tragic events of 9/11 were the worst terror attacks in history on American soil.

Out of the 2,753 people who lost their lives in the Sept. 11 attacks, approximately 40%, or 1,103 victims, still remain unidentified.

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