In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, Patriot Day occurs on September 11 of each year in memory of the people killed in the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

of the year 2001.

History

In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, carried out by terrorists from Al-Qaeda,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

proclaimed Friday, September 14, 2001, as a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for the Victims of the Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001. A bill to make September 11 a

national day of mourning A national day of mourning is a day or days marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the death or funeral of ...

was introduced in the

U.S. House The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

on October 25, 2001, by Rep.

Vito Fossella Vito John Fossella Jr. (born March 9, 1965) is an American politician serving as the Staten Island Borough President since 2022. A member of the Republican Party, Fossella previously represented the state's 13th congressional district in the U.S ...

(R-NY) with 22 co-sponsors. The result was the resolution to proclaim September 11, 2002, as the first Patriot Day. Original co-sponsors in the House were: *

Gary Ackerman Gary Leonard Ackerman (born November 19, 1942) is an American retired politician and former U.S. Representative from New York, serving from 1983 to 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. On March 15, 2012, Ackerman announced that he wou ...

(D-NY) *

Rick Boucher Frederick Carlyle Boucher (; born August 1, 1946) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1983 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was defeated in his bid for a 15th term by Republican Morgan Griffit ...

(D-VA) *

Eliot Engel Eliot Lance Engel (; born February 18, 1947) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from New York from 1989 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented a district covering portions of the north Bronx and sou ...

(D-NY) *

Phil English Philip Sheridan English (born June 20, 1956) is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995–2009 from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, representing the state's 3rd Congress ...

(R-PA) *

Randy Forbes James Randy Forbes (born February 17, 1952) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. representative for , serving from 2001 to 2017. Prior to joining the United States Congress, he was a member of the Virgin ...

(R-VA) *

Benjamin Gilman Benjamin Arthur Gilman (December 6, 1922 – December 17, 2016) was an American politician and Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Middletown, New York, from January 3, 1973, to January 3, 2003. Early life Gilm ...

(R-NY) *

Felix Grucci Felix J. Grucci Jr. (born November 25, 1951) is an American politician from New York who served in the United States House of Representatives from New York's 1st congressional district as a member of the Republican Party. Early life Felix J. ...

(R-NY) *

Maurice Hinchey Maurice Dunlea Hinchey (October 27, 1938 – November 22, 2017) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from New York and was a member of the Democratic Party. He retired at the end of his term in January 2013 after 20 ...

(D-NY) *

Steve Israel Steven J. Israel (born May 30, 1958) is an American political commentator, lobbyist, author, bookseller and former politician. He served as a U.S. Representative from New York from 2001 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected ...

(D-NY) *

Peter T. King Peter Thomas King (born April 5, 1944) is a former American politician who represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he represented a South Shore Long Island district that i ...

(R-NY) *

Ray LaHood Raymond H. LaHood (born December 6, 1945) is an American politician who served as the 16th United States Secretary of Transportation from 2009 to 2013 under President Barack Obama. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the I ...

(R-IL) *

Nita Lowey Nita Sue Lowey ( ) ( Melnikoff; born July 5, 1937) is an American politician who formerly served as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1989 until 2021. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Lowey also served as co-Dean of the New York C ...

(D-NY) *

Carolyn Maloney Carolyn Jane Maloney (née Bosher, February 19, 1946) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2013, and for from 1993 to 2013. The district includes most of Manhattan's East Side, Astoria and Long Island City i ...

(D-NY) *

Michael R. McNulty Michael Robert McNulty (born September 16, 1947) is a retired American politician from the U.S. state of New York. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1989 to 2009 representing New York's Capital District and was chair ...

(D-NY) *

Jim Moran James Patrick Moran Jr. (born May 16, 1945) is an American politician who served as the mayor of Alexandria, Virginia from 1985 to 1990, and as the U.S. representative for (including the cities of Falls Church and Alexandria, all of Arlington ...

(D-VA) *

Jerry Nadler Jerrold Lewis Nadler (; born June 13, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician who since 2013 has served as the U.S. representative for , which includes Manhattan's west side and parts of Brooklyn. A member of the Democratic Party, he is in h ...

(D-NY) *

John E. Peterson John E. Peterson (born December 25, 1938) is an American Republican politician from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. From 1997 to 2009, he represented the state's mainly rural and largely Republican 5th Congressional district in the U.S. Hous ...

(R-PA) *

Thomas M. Reynolds Thomas M. Reynolds (born September 3, 1950) is an American politician from the U.S. state of New York, formerly representing the state's 27th and 26th Congressional districts in the United States House of Representatives. Reynolds was chair ...

(R-NY) *

Ed Schrock Edward Lee Schrock (born April 6, 1941) is a retired naval officer (1964–1988) and American Republican politician who served as a member of the Senate of Virginia from 1996 - 2001. He also served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Jan ...

(R-VA) * Don Sherwood (R-PA) *

Ed Towns Edolphus "Ed" Towns Jr. (born July 21, 1934) is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2013. A Democrat from New York, Towns was Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committe ...

(D-NY) *

James T. Walsh James Thomas Walsh (born June 19, 1947)Walsh, James T.
''Biographical Directory of ...

(R-NY) From 2009 to 2016, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

proclaimed September 11 as Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance, in observance of , the

Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act or Serve America Act (Public Law 111-13 was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on March 9, 2009, by Representative Carolyn McCarthy of New York. Originally titled the Generations Invi ...

. In 2017, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

proclaimed September 8–10 as National Days of Prayer and Remembrance, and proclaimed September 11 as Patriot Day. President Trump also did so in 2018, 2019, and 2020 as well. After Joe Biden was elected President in 2021, he also issued an Executive Order for Patriot Day 2021 and Patriot Day 2022., url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/09/09/a-proclamation-on-patriot-day-and-national-day-of-service-and-remembrance-2022/

Observance

The

flag of the United States The national flag of the United States, United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rect ...

is flown at half-staff at the White House and on all U.S. government buildings and establishments throughout the world; Americans are also encouraged to display flags in and outside their homes. Additionally, a

moment of silence A moment of silence (also referred to as a minute's silence or a one-minute silence) is a period of silent contemplation, prayer, reflection, or meditation. Similar to flying a flag at half-mast, a moment of silence is often a gesture of ...

is observed to correspond with the attacks, beginning at 8:46 a.m. (

Eastern Daylight Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small por ...

), the time the first plane,

American Airlines Flight 11 American Airlines Flight 11 was a domestic passenger flight that was hijacked by five al-Qaeda terrorists on September 11, 2001 as part of the September 11 attacks. Lead hijacker Mohamed Atta deliberately crashed the plane into the North Tower ...

, struck the North Tower of the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

on September 11, 2001. Patriot Day is not a

federal holiday Federal holidays in the United States are the eleven calendar dates that are designated by the U.S. government as holidays. On U.S. federal holidays, non-essential federal government offices are closed and federal government employees are paid ...

; schools and businesses remain open in observance of the occasion, although memorial ceremonies for the 2,977 victims are often held. Volunteer and service opportunities are coordinated by the

Corporation for National and Community Service AmeriCorps (officially the Corporation for National and Community Service or CNCS) is an independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in service through a variety of stipended volunteer work prog ...

References

External links

* Text of the statute *
Public Law 107-89
**

20102011

Detailed information on the bill from THOMAS

U.S. Army's Patriot Day Website
{{Authority control Recurring events established in 2001 Aftermath of the September 11 attacks Public holidays in the United States September observances