Team McConnell, civic leaders, and the Wichita Fire Department gather for a Patriot Day Memorial ceremony at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, Sept. 11, 2026. The ceremony commemorated 25 years of remembering the losses suffered that day. (U.S. Air Force video by Senior Airman Amelio Brown)
Twenty-five years have passed since a clear September morning forever changed the United States.
On Sept. 11, 2001, 19 terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing two into the World Trade Center in New York City, one into the Pentagon and one into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives, including military members, first responders and civilians.
