US Open Marks 25th 9/11 Anniversary, Honoring Nearly 3,000 Victims

Q: How does a newly added seventh moment of silence reveal a hidden, ongoing tragedy 25 years after the 9/11 attacks?

The new seventh moment of silence makes clear that 9/11 did not end on Sept. 11, 2001. It recognizes a second, slower-moving death toll: first responders, recovery workers, survivors and Lower Manhattan residents who were exposed to toxic dust and debris and later died from related illnesses. For nearly 25 years, the annual ceremony paused six times for the exact moments when planes struck and the towers fell. The added seventh pause shifts public attention from the immediate attack to its long aftermath. Memorial officials say it will permanently honor people whose deaths came years later from cancers, respiratory disease, PTSD-linked conditions and other illnesses tied to Ground Zero exposure. That hidden tragedy is substantial. More than 8,000 people enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program have died, and some reports put the broader death toll from 9/11-related illnesses above 9,000 — exceeding the 2,977 people killed on the day of the attacks. The program now covers roughly 154,000 members, with more than 57,000 diagnosed with cancer alone, showing that the attacks remain a major long-term public health crisis. The seventh silence also reflects years of advocacy by families and responders who argued that later deaths were too often left outside the public story of 9/11. By adding this moment, the memorial formally acknowledges that many losses were delayed, not absent — and that the human cost of the attacks is still unfolding a quarter-century later.

Q: Why are advocates urgently seeking out adults who were just children in New York during the 2001 attacks?

Advocates are urgently trying to find people who were children in New York on Sept. 11 because many are now reaching the age when long-latency illnesses may begin to appear, yet they remain one of the least studied and least enrolled 9/11-exposed groups. Researchers say tens of thousands of children, teens, and even fetuses in utero were exposed to the toxic dust, smoke, and trauma after the World Trade Center collapse. Unlike adult responders, this group was never systematically tracked in large numbers. As a result, major questions remain about their long-term risks for cancer, respiratory disease, mental health problems, reproductive effects, and possible developmental or cognitive impacts. The urgency is also practical. The World Trade Center Health Program can provide monitoring and treatment for certified 9/11-related conditions, but officials say many eligible former children are not enrolled, partly because they mistakenly believe the program is only for firefighters and other responders. Some have also moved away and may not connect current health problems to exposure two decades ago. Federal health officials are now trying to close that gap through a CDC-backed youth research effort mandated by Congress. Advocates say enrolling these former child survivors now could both improve individual care and help answer unresolved public-health questions about how disaster-related toxic exposure affects children over a lifetime.

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 11

Arthur Ashe Stadium paused before the night session for a pre-match ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks were honored alongside their families and first responders during the tribute.
A moment of silence opened the observance, followed by recording artist Jojo performing the U.S. national anthem before players entered the court.