Still There: The Enduring Power of the American Flag 25 Years After 9/11

The following content is sponsored by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and is written by its president and CEO Beth Hillman, an Air Force veteran, historian, and a nationally recognized leader in education, service, and military justice.

Twenty-five years ago, on September 11, 2001, our city and country were attacked by terrorists – and a grieving nation turned to the American flag as a shared symbol of resilience. In the days and weeks that followed, the flag was everywhere, flying over front porches and barns and pinned to lapels. More than two centuries old, the flag became a way to both declare individual allegiance and make a collective statement that we would endure.

I recognized this same spirit of mission and unity during my seven years in the U.S. Air Force. Serving first as a space operations officer at Cheyenne Mountain and then, a history instructor at the Air Force Academy, I understood that military service demands a commitment to a purpose higher than oneself. I experienced firsthand what the American flag represents to those who swear an oath to defend it.

The flag represents something larger than any one individual. It evokes a shared mission, a shared identity, and a shared responsibility to preserve freedom. After 9/11, the nation adopted a patriotic ethos. The Stars and Stripes flew high over neighborhoods across the country to honor the fallen, support our troops, and remind each other that Americans stand strong.

This powerful collective memory is why the 9/11 Memorial & Museum is beginning our 25th anniversary programming with a special installation entitled “Our Flag Was Still There.” Opened to the public on March 18, 2026, the installation features historic flags from key moments over the past quarter century: Flags flown in the immediate aftermath of the attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, those on display at Ground Zero throughout the rescue and recovery process, and the flag carried on Operation Neptune’s Spear, when Osama bin Laden was killed.

During each of these key moments, the American flag stood as a symbol of strength and resilience, just as it has throughout our nation’s now 250-year history.

America’s semiquincentennial will precede the 25th anniversary of 9/11 by a few months, at a critical demographic juncture: One-third of the current U.S. population was born after September 11, 2001. This stunning reality means that a growing number of Americans, approximately 100 million, encounter the day’s tragic events as a matter of historical record, not lived experience. They did not see with their own eyes the images of destruction and tragedy in lower Manhattan, at the Pentagon, and in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. They did not feel the stunned quiet of a nation in mourning. They did not witness firsthand how the American people responded with courage, unity, and resolve. They did not bear witness to the American flag proudly waving above Ground Zero, or the patriotic memorials that sprung up across America in the following weeks.

The “Our Flag Was Still There” installation at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. (Photo courtesy of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum)

This is why remembrance matters.

To say “Never Forget” is to remember the victims of the attacks, as well as to reclaim the solidarity Americans felt on September 12 and in the weeks following. We remember the firefighters who ran toward danger, saving lives while sacrificing their own. We recall the feeling of watching that iconic Ground Zero flag being raised by FDNY firefighters on the afternoon of 9/11. And we remember the service of the tens of thousands who answered the call to defend our nation in its darkest hour.

Today, more than 27 million visitors have passed through our museum doors. Increasingly, they come to learn what happened here because they didn’t live through it themselves. They come to see how the courage and compassion that flowed from every corner of the country helped a grieving nation stand together. They also learn how an increasing number of those directly affected are becoming sick and dying of 9/11 related illnesses contracted during the toxic aftermath of the attacks.

Volunteers and members of Team Red White and Blue place American flags on every name that appears on the memorial pools’ parapets in honor of Independence Day in New York on Tuesday, July 4, 2017. (Monika Graff, National September 11 Memorial & Museum)

This year of American milestones – marking 250 years since our nation’s founding and remembering a day 25 years ago that changed us forever – is the perfect time to rediscover the power of the American flag. A symbolic anchor of our shared commitment to freedom, it’s sustained us through our greatest challenges and can inspire generations to come.