SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Today marks 25 years since the September 11 terror attacks, and we start this hour with just a small sample of the many recordings from that day that documented how the world and so many lives were changed that morning. And just a warning - some of this may be difficult to hear.
(SOUNDBITE OF MONTAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED NEWSCASTER: We understand that there has been a plane crash on the southern tip of Manhattan.
UNIDENTIFIED FIREFIGHTER: The World Trade Center tower No. 1 is on fire.
UNIDENTIFIED NEWSCASTER: Oh, my goodness. We're looking at a live picture from Washington, and there is smoke pouring out of the Pentagon.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANSWERING MACHINE BEEP)
AUTOMATED VOICE: Tuesday, 9:47 a.m.
CEECEE LYLES: Hi, baby. I'm - baby, you have to listen to me carefully. I'm on a plane. It's been hijacked. I'm on the plane. I'm calling from the plane. I hope to be able to see your face again, baby. I love you. Goodbye.
DETROW: That last voice there was CeeCee Lyles, a flight attendant on United Airlines Flight 93. Today, a quarter century later, people gathered in Lower Manhattan, at the Pentagon and just outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to remember the nearly 3,000 people who died that day. NPR's Brian Mann was in Lower Manhattan and joins us live from our New York Bureau. Hi, Brian.
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Hi there, Scott.
DETROW: Twenty-five years is such a long time. How did people at the 9/11 memorial talk about that day?
MANN: Well, one of the most moving things to me, Scott, was how many family members reading out names today were really young when this attack happened. Some hadn't even been born.
DETROW: Yeah.
MANN: They spoke with love, but also a sense of lost time and lost opportunities to really know the people who were gone. One of the people who spoke was the daughter of Rosa Maria Feliciano, who died in the World Trade Center.
AMANDA: This year was important for me to come read your name because I am older than you are now when you passed away. Unfortunately, my sister Lexi (ph) and I don't remember you much because we were so young when you were taken from us. We love to hear stories about your big, beautiful personality - strong, funny, tough, life of the party, a Puerto Rican queen.
MANN: And, Scott, you could hear, with the loss and grief, there was also joy and hope here today. One of the people I spoke to was Anthoula Katsimatides who lost her brother John in the twin towers on 9/11. He was 37. And she came to this ceremony today wearing this gorgeous, bright dress because she says her brother always encouraged her to live vibrantly.
ANTHOULA KATSIMATIDES: I can honestly say that every day of my life for the last 25 years, I've made conscious decisions, conscious effort to live my life the way he would have, like, big and bold and beautiful. And I think that that would have made him proud.
MANN: In all 2,977 people died that day, and we heard all their names, often with testimonials like that one.
DETROW: Every living former president was in New York along with all the former first ladies, but President Trump and first lady Melania Trump chose to stay in Washington, not attend the ceremony in Lower Manhattan. Trump did speak at the Pentagon, where one of the hijacked planes crashed. What did he say?
MANN: Well, Trump actually spoke after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth who really set the mood by describing the U.S. as a country that's been effectively at war against what he described as Muslim extremists since 9/11. And Trump himself, you'll remember, campaigned on the idea that he didn't want more wars, but then launched a military campaign against Iran in February. And today, Trump linked those military operations to 9/11.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We will never, ever forget. That's why we fight today. We don't have a choice. There can only be victory.
MANN: Of course, Trump has declared victory over Iran repeatedly, but that war continues.
DETROW: I want to ask about one interesting dynamic today, Brian. Some families in New York voiced anger during the ceremony about Saudi Arabia and called for action from the Trump administration. What were they saying?
MANN: Many 9/11 families believe prominent figures in Saudi Arabia played a role supporting the terrorists who carried out the 9/11 attacks. Some families think past U.S. administrations haven't released all information about Saudi Arabia's involvement. Saudi officials have long denied any role. But today, family members repeated their demand for the U.S. to do more, and those speeches drew big applause. But I want to say, Scott, there was another speech that drew big applause, and it came from a man named Michael Massaroli Jr. And he spoke about his father, Michael, who died in the twin towers. He was the last person to speak this afternoon.
MICHAEL MASSAROLI JR: I think the one parting thing I want to leave everyone with is that you do my dad's legacy and the legacy of all these victims no honor by using this tragedy to spread hate. I've had to grow up and spend the past 25 years seeing people use it to hate on our Muslim brothers and sisters, to hate on people who don't look like them.
MANN: So, Scott, 25 years later, families are still working through wrestling with how to think about 9/11 and its impact and meaning.
DETROW: That is NPR's Brian Mann reporting from New York City today. Thanks so much.
MANN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
