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WASHINGTON — <\/span>President Donald Trump observed Friday\u2019s 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks<\/a> by attending a ceremony at the Pentagon<\/a> commemorating the lives lost when al-Qaida militants hijacked planes and killed nearly 3,000 people in three locations, upending American foreign policy and national security.<\/p>\n Trump and first lady Melania Trump listened as the names of the 184 people killed at the Pentagon that day were read aloud at the start of the ceremony. Earlier, in a downpour at daybreak, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and top military officials stood outside and watched as a giant American flag was unfurled on the building struck by one of those planes a quarter century ago.<\/p>\n It’s the second year in a row<\/a> for Trump to mark the day at the Pentagon. The president, who is originally from New York, last attended the ground zero ceremony there in 2024.<\/p>\n Vice President JD Vance<\/a> is attending the New York observance alongside former presidents, while other administration officials are at the ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Vance had planned to be in New York for the anniversary last year but instead flew to Salt Lake City to be with the family of Charlie Kirk after the conservative activist was assassinated.<\/p>\n At a Tuesday event at the Ellipse<\/a> just outside the White House, Trump vowed to \u201cnever forget\u201d victims, noting that the Sept. 11 attacks were one of few moments in history that “divide time into really what came before” and after. <\/p>\n That event, spearheaded by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, showcased a massive, 21-foot, nearly 17,000-pound steel beam recovered from the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York. Traveling for months across the country as part of the Steel Across America tour, the beam was to be in New York for a procession Friday retracing the steps of fallen New York City firefighter Stephen Siller.<\/p>\n