Remembering Those Lost: Honoring 9/11 Anniversary

NBC's Susan McGinnis takes us to the tributes

MANHATTAN, N.Y. (KYMA, KECY) - On the 19th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks, Americans stopped to remember.

In Lower Manhattan, people kept alive the memory of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11th, the heroic rescuers who died trying to save them, and those who have passed in the years since from exposure to the toxic chemicals that engulfed the area for months.

This year, the remembrances are different.

COVID-19 forced crowd sizes to be limited. For those who could attend, hand sanitizer and masks were plentiful.

Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden attended the Ground Zero service.

For the first time, organizers decided not to have family members read the names of the fallen, in order to maintain social distancing.

A recording of the victims' names was played.

A charity group held a separate commemoration with family members reading the names live, nearby.

At the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper laid a wreath dedicated to the 184 people who died there.

A giant American flag covered the spot where the hijacked plane crashed into the building.

In Shanksville, Pennsylvania, President Trump joined the family members of people who died on United Flight 93 for a private memorial service.

"The only thing that stood between the enemy and a deadly strike at the heart of American democracy was the courage and resolve of 40 men and women," President Trump said.