President Donald Trump has proclaimed Sept. 11, 2026, as Patriot Day and ordered flags at federal departments, agencies and facilities to be flown at half-staff in memory of the 2,977 people killed in the 2001 terrorist attacks. The proclamation marks the 25th anniversary of the attacks on New York City, the Pentagon and United Airlines Flight 93.
Trump also invited governors, U.S. territories, organizations and individuals to join the national observance. Congress designated Sept. 11 of each year as Patriot Day through a joint resolution approved Dec. 18, 2001.
A nationwide observance
The proclamation calls on federal departments, agencies and instrumentalities to display the U.S. flag at half-staff. It does not specify additional federal closures or changes to government services.
Trump said the anniversary should be used to renew the country’s commitment to remember the victims, first responders, service members and others affected by the attacks. He also noted that an entire generation of Americans has now reached adulthood without a living memory of Sept. 11, 2001.
The White House account traces the sequence of the attacks beginning at 8:46 a.m., when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower 17 minutes later, and both towers had collapsed by 10:28 a.m.
American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, 34 minutes after the first attack, killing military personnel and civilian employees and injuring others. The proclamation highlighted survivors and emergency workers who returned to the burning building to help people escape.
Passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 learned about the other attacks through telephone calls and fought the hijackers. The plane crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, before reaching its intended target in the nation’s capital, killing all 40 passengers and crew members aboard.
The proclamation said the crash site was about 20 minutes by air from the intended target, and it described the passengers’ actions as preventing another strike in Washington.
Victims, responders and military service
The four hijacked aircraft and attacks killed 2,977 victims over a little more than two hours. The proclamation recognized the New York Police Department, Fire Department of New York, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and nearly 100 other emergency and first-response agencies involved in rescue and evacuation work.
It also honored medical personnel and volunteers who responded at the attack sites and acknowledged first responders who continue to experience serious health conditions linked to their service.
Trump connected the anniversary to the military campaigns and national-security policies that followed the attacks. Thousands of Americans joined the armed forces in the years after 2001, and many were killed or returned with physical and psychological wounds, the proclamation said.
The president used the document to restate his administration’s approach to national security, including a pledge to maintain a strong military and pursue threats to the United States. Those policy statements accompanied the memorial observance but did not announce a new military action.
The proclamation was signed Sept. 9, 2026. Patriot Day observances will take place Sept. 11 on the quarter-century anniversary of the attacks.
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