Patriot Day

Patriot Day commemorates the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and honors the nearly 3,000 Americans who lost their lives that morning in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It also honors the extraordinary first responders who raced toward the towers when everyone else was fleeing, and the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 who fought back against the hijackers with breathtaking courage.

Patriot Day is a day of solemn remembrance — and of deep gratitude for the unity, courage, and resilience that the American people demonstrated in the days, weeks, and months that followed.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial aircraft. Two planes were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City; one struck the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. A fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, was crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew voted to storm the cockpit and overpower the hijackers.

2,977 people were killed that day — the deadliest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor. Among them were 343 firefighters and 72 law enforcement officers who ran toward the towers.

President George W. Bush called September 11 "a day that tested our resolve." Congress passed a joint resolution establishing Patriot Day in 2001, designating September 11 as a permanent day of remembrance and requiring that flags be flown at half-staff.

Patriot Day matters because it honors the best of the American character — the courage that emerged from the worst of circumstances. On September 11, ordinary Americans performed extraordinary acts: first responders ran toward the burning towers; volunteers lined up by the thousands to donate blood; communities across the country came together in grief and solidarity.

The passengers of Flight 93 — who had just minutes to decide what to do — voted together, called their families to say goodbye, and then charged the cockpit to prevent the hijackers from reaching Washington, D.C. Their act of collective courage under unimaginable pressure is one of the most remarkable stories in American history.

Americans observe Patriot Day by flying flags at half-staff, attending memorial ceremonies, and pausing for moments of silence — at 8:46 a.m. (when the first plane struck) and 9:03 a.m. (when the second struck). Many Americans visit September 11 memorials, including the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City, the Pentagon Memorial in Virginia, and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Patriot Day is also observed as a national day of service and remembrance, encouraging Americans to volunteer in honor of those lost.

The attacks of September 11 were meant to break American resolve. Instead, they revealed it. In the days that followed, Americans came together across every difference — political, racial, regional — in a display of national unity that stirred the world.

As America marks 250 years, Patriot Day is a reminder that the republic has always faced threats — and that Americans have always risen to meet them. The courage displayed on September 11 and in the years that followed is part of the long American tradition of defending freedom at any cost.