FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Twenty-five years after the 9/11 attacks, the responsibility of remembering is beginning to pass to a generation that never experienced that day.
Soldiers, first responders, Veterans and community members gathered at the U.S. Army Airborne and Special Operations Museum Sept. 11, 2026, to remember the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives, recognize those who responded, and reflect on the service that followed.
The ceremony included a moment of silence, the tolling of the bell, and wreath presentations by first responders and Fort Bragg leaders before turning to the experiences of those whose lives and service were shaped by 9/11.
For Lt. Gen. Gregory K. Anderson, commanding general of XVIII Airborne Corps, those memories began while serving as commander of Bravo Company, 1st Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, in Hungary. Anderson recalled initially believing reports that an aircraft had struck the World Trade Center were part of a training exercise. It soon became clear they were not.
“September 11th was a day of tragedy and despair, but it was also a call to action,” Anderson said.
That call shaped a generation of service. Anderson reflected on the XVIII Airborne Corps Soldiers who served in Afghanistan, Iraq and other missions in the years that followed, while emphasizing that the commitment to protect the nation continues today.
“We remember nearly 3,000 lives lost,” Anderson said. “We remember the bravery, sacrifice and resilience that emerged from the darkest of days.”
Before the military response carried that mission overseas, first responders were already moving toward danger at home.
William J. Lehmann Jr., a retired New York City Fire Department paramedic and 9/11 survivor, recalled responding as an ordinary morning in New York turned into smoke, debris and destruction. His remarks connected the first responders who responded that morning with the service members who prepared to deploy in the months that followed.
“The shield and the sword are not separate,” Lehmann said. “We are two halves of the same armor.”
Twenty-five years later, Lehmann turned his attention to those who have no memory of the attacks themselves.
Many of today’s young Soldiers were not yet born on Sept. 11, 2001. Lehmann spoke about the importance of preserving the stories of those who did not return home so their service and sacrifice remain understood by generations who know the attacks only through history.
“We are the living monuments,” Lehmann said.
As the ceremony came to an end, bagpipes led the XVIII Airborne Corps command team, first responders and community members from the ceremony into the museum. Inside, the exhibit “Remembering 9/11: From Ground Zero to Abbey Gate” continues the story from the attacks through the years of military service that followed.
For those who remember Sept. 11, the morning at Fort Bragg offered a chance to look back.
For those who cannot, it offered something to carry forward.