Zillar Barta Desk,New York: U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick attended the solemn memorial ceremony in New York on Friday marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Lutnick, who was CEO of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald at the time of the attacks, has a deeply personal connection to the tragedy. The World Trade Center attack killed 658 of the company’s 960 employees, including his brother, Gary Lutnick. Howard Lutnick survived because he was taking his son to school that morning.
At the memorial, Lutnick was seen wiping away a tear as he looked at the names of Cantor Fitzgerald employees engraved around the reflecting pools at the site of the former World Trade Center. He also appeared to smile while remembering those who lost their lives.
The New York ceremony brought together victims’ families, first responders and senior political leaders. Vice President JD Vance, former Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, along with other officials, attended the commemoration at Ground Zero.
Family members read the names of those killed in the attacks, with moments of silence marking key moments of the tragedy. For the first time, the ceremony also included a moment of silence honoring people who later died from illnesses linked to exposure to toxic debris following the attacks.
The 25th anniversary observances across the United States served as a solemn reminder of the nearly 3,000 people killed on September 11, 2001, and the continuing impact of the attacks on their families, survivors and first responders.
