The were no clouds in New York’s sky on Saturday. Nearly the same blank blue as the morning of 9/11.
Twenty years on, against a backdrop of extraordinary political divisiveness, Americans this weekend marked the deadliest terrorist strike on U.S. soil with the austere tolling of bells, the soaring strains of “Amazing Grace” and the somber recitation of names of the dead.
The landmark anniversary prompted an outpouring of grief for the nearly 3,000 people killed Sept. 11, 2001, when four hijacked U.S. passenger planes were wielded — unfathomably, still — as weapons.
Family members grieve at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum on Saturday after the ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
(Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images)
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The plane crashes at the World Trade Center; Shanksville, Pa.; and the Pentagon galvanized an outpouring of unity and solidarity in the United States. But two decades later, the anniversary showcased myriad ways in which the nation remains wounded, in large part from within, even as it celebrated heroism and resilience.
In groups big and small, Americans and people abroad filed quietly in by the thousands to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York, the Pentagon, the September 11 Memorial Garden in London, and a monument in Rome.
U.S. service members attend the Pentagon 9/11 observance ceremony at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Va.
(Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Former President Clinton, left, former First Lady Hillary Clinton, former President Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, President Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Bloomberg’s partner, Diana Taylor, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer stand for the national anthem Saturday in New York City.
(Chip Somodevilla/AFP via Getty Images)
People across the globe sang out songs of American patriotism.
Flags encircling the Washington Monument are flown at half-staff on Saturday in Washington, D.C.
(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
People embrace at the September 11 Memorial Garden at Grosvenor Square on Saturday in London. People across the U.K. paid their respects to the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks.
(Hollie Adams/Getty Images)
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The FDNY Pipes and Drums marches past invited guests and families during the FDNY Memorial Service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Saturday in New York City.
(Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
343 American flags, representing firefighters who were killed on 9/11, were held during a processional along Fifth Avenue.
A National Park Service ranger stands in front of the Wall of Names at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa., before a Service of Remembrance on Saturday.
(Gene J. Puskar/AP)
Roses are placed in the name of Frank Spinelli during a ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
(Anthony Behara/AFP via Getty Images)
Thousands of New Yorkers and visitors placed flowers, photographs and personal belongings on the names engraved into the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
Two marble columns, which represent the twin towers of the World Trade Center, are seen during a ceremony Saturday in Rome to remember the lives lost.
(Stefano Montesi/Corbis via Getty Images)
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Flowers are left next to a picture at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial during a wreath-laying ceremony Saturday at the Pentagon.
(Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Light bounces off of nearby buildings to light the edge of the north pool Saturday at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City.
(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Firefighters gather in lower Manhattan near ground zero in New York as the city commemorates the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
An American flag is unfurled at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on Saturday at sunrise.
(J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
As the day began, an American flag was draped over the site of impact at the Pentagon.
A person pays their respects Saturday at the September 11 Memorial Garden at Grosvenor Square in London.
(Hollie Adams/Getty Images)
President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden attend a wreath-laying ceremony Saturday at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa.
(Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
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The new One World Trade Center tower stands above other skyscrapers Saturday during the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Jacob Moscovitch was a temporary photo editor at the Los Angeles Times who worked on news, features and entertainment. A Southern California native, he recently graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism.
The award-winning Los Angeles Times’ photo staff works across Southern California, the state, the nation and the world to bring readers images that inform and inspire daily. A complete list of the Visual Journalism staff can be found on the Newsroom Directory. Recent galleries can be seen on our photography page.
