Presidents and people commemorate - 15th September 2021

20 years on from the 9/11 attacks, Americans remembered. Memorial services took place in New York, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. These were the sites where terrorists had crashed passenger planes.

A bell chimed for a minute's silence at the moment of each crash and the fall of each twin tower.

Relatives of the victims read each of the names of the 2,977 who were killed, over 40 percent of whom have never been found. This gives the memorials added significance, as President Biden commented.

Joe Biden: "These memorials are really important. But they're also incredibly difficult for the people who were affected by them, because it brings back the moment you got the phone call, it brings back that instant you got the news, no matter how many years go by."

The names here were close personal friends to many. Mark Papadimitriou thinks that, over a generation later, these memorials have shown that the dead are remembered.

Mark Papadimitriou: "I have a friend that passed away. His wife was pregnant. So now I know that his daughter is, you know, now 19. And that marks a lifetime already. And so many people have the same story. So many families were disrupted. And we just need to let them know that all those people are not forgotten."

President on 9/11, George W Bush addressed the Pennsylvania memorial, where Flight 93 had crashed. He spoke of the American people's unity and strength in that crisis, and the difference today.

George W Bush: "In the weeks and months following the 9/11 attacks, I was proud to lead an amazing, resilient, united people. When it comes to the unity of America, those days seem distant from our own.

Over the past 20 years, the 9/11 death count has continued to rise. Many who breathed in dust, glass, particulates and chemicals have developed a range of cancers and breathing difficulties. These victims are also campaigning for access to the care that they require.