25 years on, America seeks to keep 9/11 memories alive
AI generated
asserted
America → seek → memories
A quarter of a century after the era-defining attacks of Sept 11, 2001, the United States is eager to keep alive the memory of a trauma that is fading as the proportion of Americans who did not experience it first-hand grows.
asserted
who → define → it
US President Donald Trump will pay his respects at the Pentagon rather than in New York, where the attacks by hijacked passenger planes on the World Trade Center towers claimed the largest number of the 2,977 total victims recorded on that day.
asserted
attacks → pay → day
But Vice-President J.D. Vance and Trump’s four living predecessors – Democrats Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, as well as Republican George W. Bush, who was president at the time of the attacks – are all expected at the Ground Zero site in Lower Manhattan on Sept 11.
asserted
who → live → Sept
The anniversary commemorates a watershed moment for the US and the world.
asserted
anniversary → commemorate → US
“Many in my generation remember exactly where we were on that horrific day,” said Beth Hillman, 59, president of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and a US Air Force veteran.
asserted
Hillman → remember → Memorial
Yet today, “100 million Americans were not even born or are too young to remember” the tragic events.
asserted
Americans → bear → events
After placing major emphasis on the duty to remember, her institution is now focusing on outreach, education and engaging younger generations.
asserted
institution → place → generations
Trained volunteers, including first responders, connect with audiences who have learnt of the disaster solely through their parents or school.
asserted
who → train → parents
“Even if you were alive but not here or have a connection, it’s a lot easier to understand the magnitude of what took place,” Logan Miller, a 32-year-old who lost an uncle and a grandfather as a result of the attacks, told AFP.
asserted
who → have → AFP
Making sense of 9/11 is “a little tougher for that next generation”, he added.
asserted
he → make → generation
Miller is one of many volunteers sharing their experiences at the museum, which gets 2.4 million unique visitors per year, or through video clips.
asserted
which → share → clips
Young people are “more inquisitive” and ask more questions than their elders, who Miller said sometimes hesitate to challenge him for fear of causing offence.
asserted
Miller → ask → offence
“I wasn’t born at the time and yet it was important for me to be here, to do this trip,” said 22-year-old Ignacio Gaete, a Chilean visiting the museum and memorial featuring two large recessed pools within the footprints of the Twin Towers.
asserted
Gaete → bear → Towers
Gaete said that while young people do not have visceral memories of 9/11 like his father does, “I think it can transcend generations”.
asserted
it → say → generations
But that transcendence requires preservation and education, according to Holly Kafka, visiting Manhattan from Chicago with her husband.
uncertain
transcendence → require → husband
they’re always in this little rat race, keeping up with social media,” the 61-year-old said.
asserted
old → ’re → media
“We have to stop them and say, ‘Come here and experience it.’”
9,400 more deaths
As they do every year at Ground Zero starting at 8.40am (Singapore time 8.40pm), the time shortly before hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower, relatives will read the long list of their loved ones’ names.
In the evening, two beams of light will project skyward from Lower Manhattan, symbolic of the towers.
asserted
beams → have → towers
Nineteen Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked four planes on that nearly cloudless day in 2001.
asserted
operatives → hijack → 2001
Two jets slammed into the World Trade Center, causing the iconic 110-story buildings to collapse.
asserted
buildings → slam → Center
A third plane struck the Pentagon, while a fourth – which apparently had targeted the US Capitol or the White House – crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers fought back.
asserted
passengers → strike → Shanksville
Beyond those killed on Sept 11, more than 9,400 other people have died from 9/11-related illnesses, according to the federal programme established to provide medical care to those affected.
uncertain
people → kill → those
The trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, alleged mastermind of the attacks and a top lieutenant of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, was recently scheduled for June 2028 at the US Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
asserted
trial → allege → Bay
He has been detained there for 20 years.
asserted
He → detain → years
Trump, 80, has confirmed he will skip the Ground Zero event and instead speak at the Pentagon on 9/11.
asserted
he → confirm → 9/11
The New York Times reported it was because Trump would not be allowed to deliver remarks at the site, which has strictly banned speeches so commemorations there could remain non-partisan.
uncertain
commemorations → report → speeches
The President dismissed the reporting as “made up”.
asserted
President → dismiss → reporting
The Aporia
