On 11 September 2001, three thousand people lost their lives, and many more lost someone they loved. Another six thousand were injured. No one is able to forget it. That day, two planes brought down the Twin Towers in New York. Another crashed near the Pentagon in Washington, while the last fell in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Sixteen years have passed and the United States is commemorating the event that changed its history, and the history of the Western world.

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania commemorate the 11 September attacks in the White House garden together with the entire staff © Win McNamee/Getty Images

Firefighters hold the American flag at the commemoration ceremony held at the 9/11 Memorial in New York © Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The Manhattan skyline is illuminated by the Tribute in Light for the 16th anniversary of the Twin Towers attack © Drew Angerer/Getty Images

A police officer is moved to tears in front of the pools at the 9/11 Memorial in New York, on which the names of all the victims of the attack are engraved © Drew Angerer/Getty Images

One World Trade Center, also known as the Freedom Tower, has risen on the site where the Twin Towers once stood © Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Photographs of all the victims are displayed at the 9/11 Tribute Museum in New York © Drew Angerer/Getty Images

A commemorative wreath hung along the Brooklyn Promenade frames the Lower Manhattan skyline and One World Trade Center © Drew Angerer/Getty Images

A man pauses in front of one of the names engraved on the wall during the annual candlelight ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on the evening before the sixteenth anniversary of 11 September © Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

"Nothing can divide us"

"America will not be intimidated, and those who try will join the long list of vanquished enemies who dared to test our resolve," declared United States President Donald Trump. When we are united, "no force on Earth can divide us," he added. Official ceremonies were held in New York, Washington and Shanksville, but across the country thousands of Americans marked the anniversary by carrying out voluntary work.