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9/11 Museum CEO reflects on lasting impact of terror attacks as America marks 250th birthday
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As America marks its 250th anniversary, 9/11 Memorial and Museum President and CEO Elizabeth L. Hillman said this year’s milestone coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, highlighting the nation’s past and its resilience.
«This year, America’s 250th birthday coincides with the 25th anniversary of 9/11, which means that what’s happening at our site is very much connected to the history of the country and to the recognition of this important milestone,» Hillman told Fox News Digital.
«9/11 is an important part of our nation’s history, but especially now as the nation turns 250.»
Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the terrorist attacks when hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
SECRETS OF REVOLUTIONARY WAR BATTLEFIELDS EMERGE 250 YEARS AFTER AMERICA’S FOUNDING
Two flags flutter on a fence in front of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center at the Tear Drop 9/11 Memorial at sunset on June 13, 2026, in Bayonne, New Jersey. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
Hillman said it is more important than ever for future generations to learn about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to understand how they helped shape the nation and «where we are today.»
«Now, 25 years have passed since that date, so if we don’t elevate 9/11 in the eyes of the 100 million Americans who were born since or were too young to remember 9/11 when it happened, we’ll lose the opportunity for them to understand what happened on that day and how the world came to heal, how the nation came together, and how this city and the other sites, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, worked to recover afterward,» she said.
Hillman said the nation’s recovery after 9/11 shows that even after a devastating tragedy, people can come together, heal and rebuild.
«I think everyone’s hungry for evidence that we can survive things that are difficult,» she said. «There’s nothing like 9/11 to help people realize, given how the nation has recovered since, that it is possible to persevere, to heal, to recover, even in the face of really unfathomable loss, and that’s what 9/11 has the chance to teach us.»
Reflecting on the museum’s role, Hillman said the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks affected not only New York City but the entire country, calling the museum «a testament to the resilience of the city» and to «the perseverance that enabled us to actually rebuild.»
9/11 MUSEUM TO OFFER FREE ADMISSION FOR VETERANS AHEAD OF MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND
Colorful flowers are left by mourners at the 911 Memorial, offering gifts to remember those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York City. (Getty Images)
«At the center of the rebuilt World Trade Center is a monument to the people who were killed that day and a testimony, really, to what we can do when we come together after that kind of catastrophe,» she said.
This year, the museum opened «Our Flag Was Still There,» an exhibition featuring flags, artifacts and photographs that tell stories of resilience from first responders, veterans and Americans who lived through 9/11. The exhibit includes the Ground Zero flag raised by FDNY firefighters, the flag draped over the Pentagon by soldiers and firefighters, a flag raised over the last column of the South Tower, and one carried during the mission that killed Usama bin Laden.
«It reveals how important the flag was in the healing and the coming together that happened after 9/11,» Hillman said.
Hillman said commemorating 9/11 is especially important at a time when «many things seem to be splitting us apart.»
TUNNEL TO TOWERS ANNOUNCES ‘STEEL ACROSS AMERICA’ TOUR TO MARK 25 YEARS SINCE 9/11 ATTACKS
Attendees hold American flag posters during the Great American State Fair Kickoff Celebration on the National Mall on June 24, 2026, in Washington, DC. The Great American State Fair runs through July 10 celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
«The opportunity to bring people together around a symbol like the flag and around a symbol like the rebuilding of the World Trade Center after 9/11, it’s a great opportunity, especially right now,» she said.
On July 4, Hillman said the museum will place an American flag at each victim’s name on the memorial, «to recognize how important the flag was as a symbol of the country on its birthday, but also of the recovery from 9/11 that happened and continues to happen now as we remember that day at this site.»
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Looking ahead to fall, Hillman said the museum will also start offering free admission to veterans whose «willingness to serve after 9/11» helped rebuild the World Trade Center and unite the nation.
«If there’s one message that we feel we can elevate now that we couldn’t do 25 years ago because we didn’t know enough about what would happen afterward, it’s that so many people were inspired to serve their country, serving in the military,» she said.
politics, america 250, september 11, new york, america together
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President Donald Trump delivered a 37-minute speech for America’s 250th birthday after a weather delay in the dark of night that was lit up by a Guinness world-record-setting fireworks display stretching from July 4 into July 5 at Washington, D.C.’s National Mall.
While thousands outlasted the rain and dodged nature’s thunderstorm light show, many Americans might have missed the president’s historic remarks.
Here is a recap of some of the highlights.
AMERICA’S NEXT 250 YEARS DEPEND ON PASSING FAITH AND FREEDOM TO OUR CHILDREN
President Donald Trump estimated in his speech that a crowd of 350,000 was cut to 150,000 on the Washington, D.C., National Mall for the record-setting fireworks display over the Washington Monument as part of the Salute to America 250 celebration. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
‘No dream in history is bigger’ than the American experiment
«In this country, we could achieve the wildest and most impossible dreams, and no dream in history is bigger or more incredible than the one that started on July 4th, 1776,» Trump said. «The war for independence was launched by minutemen, farmers, blacksmiths, tradesmen who took up their muskets against the mightiest army on earth, the most powerful army and unbeatable army – until they met us.»
«No one made them do it. They fought because they knew that a free people must have a free country. Over 250 years, the world has seen the great empires, vast kingdoms, mighty nations and terrible tyrants: They came and they went, but after 2 1/2 centuries, this American republic still stands tall and strong,» the president added.
TRUMP HAILS AMERICA AS ‘MOST EXCEPTIONAL NATION EVER TO EXIST’ IN MOUNT RUSHMORE SPEECH
‘America is a nation of winners’
«Americans won the West and built the modern world, because America is a nation of winners, and today our country is winning again, and we’re winning like never before,» Trump said just before the midway point of the speech. «America is back and we want to keep America great.»
«Together, we are also reasserting the truth that American strength and power is not something to be ashamed of. It is something that we are very, very proud of,» Trump continued. «This country has been the greatest force for peace and justice on earth in the last century. We defeated tyrants, demolished evil, and saved freedom again and again and again.»
‘Nothing Americans cannot do’
«There is no challenge Americans can not overcome,» Trump said before his concluding remarks. «There is no place we cannot go. There is no goal we cannot reach. And there is nothing that Americans cannot do.»
The crowd got 37 minutes of President Donald Trump’s historic America 250 speech and 38 minutes of the largest fireworks display in world history, breaking a Guinness Book of World Records mark as planned by Trump. (Pete Kiehart/Bloomberg)
Thanking those staying into the late hours
«If you think that was easy, it wasn’t,» Trump began in an unscripted salute to the patient and devoted crowd. «And I want to thank everybody because they did the right thing. They saw lightning. And I said, ‘there’s no way; if we have to speak in front of one person at 4 in the morning, I’m going to be here.’
«There’s no way we can be deterred. And they estimated they had 375,000 people before everybody had to leave, and they now have 150,000 people. It’s the craziest thing anyone’s ever seen.
«And I want to just thank you. And I feel so badly about some people. They left it; they couldn’t get back. But, you’re very special people, and we have a very special country. Thank you very much.»
’56 patriots put everything at risk’ for ‘victory for the ages’
«They declare that all men are created equal; that they are endowed with sacred unalienable rights by the hand of our creator, and that among these are life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,» Trump said, «and signing their names to the roster of freedom.»
«Those 56 patriots put everything at risk. Stepped onto the stage of destiny and seized a victory for the ages. And that’s what it was,» he said. «And this is an evening for the ages. I believe this is something very special. This is bigger than if we didn’t have the lightning blaring. We had lightning blaring. But this is bigger, little more inconvenient, but it’s bigger, I think, in its own way it’s more beautiful. From the beginning, we were a nation that live by the motto victory or death and live free or die.»
‘We will always be the best’
«God bless the immortal patriots of 1776, and long live the cause of independence,» Trump said. «May it reign forever and ever and ever. We will always be on top. We will never let our country fall. We will always be the best.»
«Our founders not only won our liberty, they secured it with the most righteous political document ever conceived: It’s called the Constitution of the United States,» Trump said. «Very special, and it’s because of their genius that we remain the finest people on the planet.»
Honoring 11 Gold Star families
«We are honored to be joined by 11 Gold Star family members,» Trump said. «The Gold Star family – that is one of the great tributes. It’s one of the great honors, a tough honor. There’s nothing tougher than that. But these are amazing people.»
Next stop, the moon, then a mission to Mars
«We’re going to be going to Mars very soon, and I think that’s something that we do have in my mind,» Trump said, hearkening to the historic John F. Kennedy going to the moon speech excerpt.
«And we’re going to do the moon and we’re going to go from there. We’re going to go to Mars, and we’re going to continue to be way ahead.»
Defeating communism: We ‘cast the hammer and sickle into oblivion’
«All these talks from the communists, they haven’t got a chance – not even a chance,» Trump said; a theme he reiterated multiple times in the speech. «We don’t want communists in our country. Never worked and it never will work.»
Communism will always be «a loser,» Trump added later.
«Our warriors did not fight communism on battlefields across the world only to have that menace rears its ugly head right back here in America. We’re not going to let it happen. We like to stop a threat like that immediately and before it begins,» Trump said. «It’s like a cancer. You got to cut it out. You got to cut it out fast.»
Trump added a warning to potential future communist opposition around the globe.
«The Stars and Stripes cast the hammer and sickle into oblivion before,» Trump said, «and we will do it again if necessary.»
«I don’t think it’s going to be necessary. I think people have learned. They’ve learned what to do and how to handle it, and we’ll get a handle it very well.»
‘Our destiny is written by God’
«We have thrived and flourished because our founders were great, our cause was just, our people are brave, our culture is exceptional, and our destiny is written by God,» Trump said near the end of the speech he apparently cut short after vowing earlier this week to deliver an hours-long address to the world.
«And as we can see here tonight, after 250 years, the spirit of 1776 still lives within us all. It still roars in the hearts of our nation’s capital. It still burns in the heart of every patriot, thunders through every city and town, and is still lights the entire world with the glow of American liberty. And there is nothing like that.»
250 and ‘just getting started’: ‘Best is yet to come’; ‘dawn of the golden age’
Fireworks over the National Mall during the ‘Freedom 250: Salute to America’ Independence Day celebration in Washington, D.C., might have extended to July 5, 2026, but President Donald Trump still made sure they went off for the thousands that waited out the thunderstorm with him Saturday night. (Mehmet Eser/Anadolu)
«At 250 years old, we may be the oldest constitutional republic on earth, but our country is just getting started because the best is yet to come: This is only the dawn of the golden age of America,» Trump said in his conclusion, leading directly into the National Mall fireworks display.
«And on this 250th 4th of July, we declare, just as they did two and a half centuries ago, that for our country and for our children and for the cause of liberty, we are going to take our country to new levels, to levels not reached,» Trump continued. «We’re going to make it bigger, better, stronger, and we’re going to love it even more.»
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«And I just want to thank you,» he added, finishing with words off the script. «The inconvenience of lightning can do that, but lightning will never stop you. And I want to thank everybody and we love you all. And it’s an honor to be your president. Thank you. God bless you all.»
america 250, donald trump, washington dc, white house, history
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Leah Stewart, an Australian mother and teacher who lost an arm after a shark attack at Sydney’s Coogee Beach, has been reading messages from supporters around the world during sleepless nights as she continues her long recovery, her family said.
«We’ve been sharing some of the beautiful messages we’ve received with Leah and she’s loved them, finding inspiration from the care and love you’ve all shared,» her brother, Joshua Stewart, wrote in a GoFundMe update on Sunday.
«Leah has had some challenging days but has found real strength from your kindness and support,» he added.
Leah Stewart has struggled with sleep in her recovery and has leaned on the wave of support from family, friends and strangers.
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«Since the incident Leah has had difficulty sleeping, and on those nights she’s been reading back through your messages, not only from her family and community in Australia and her whānau in New Zealand, but also from people all across the world,» he wrote, using the Maori word for family. «They’ve given her real comfort and strength.»
Stewart, mother to a 1-year-old daughter and passionate teacher, was attacked June 13 while on a morning swim close to shore and within the flags at Coogee Beach, according to her family. She suffered life-threatening injuries, including multiple bites across her arms and legs, lacerations, fractures and extreme blood loss.
She was placed on life support, put under a medically induced coma and underwent multiple surgeries in the days after the attack. Her treatment required the amputation of one arm, and the family said more surgeries were scheduled as doctors worked to save her life and stabilize her condition.
Stewart, who woke up from her 10-day coma after doctors reduced her sedation, told her mother and partner, Fernando, «I love you.» Her brother said at the time that her first thoughts were with her young daughter, August.
SHARK ATTACK SURVIVOR WAKES FROM 10-DAY COMA AND SHARES FIRST WORDS WITH FAMILY AT HER HOSPITAL BEDSIDE
«Leah has a long road ahead,» Joshua Stewart wrote after she briefly woke, calling the moment a hopeful first step in her recovery.
Joshua Stewart said the family wanted to apologize for delays in responding to supporters, explaining they have had issues with the GoFundMe messaging system.
«Leah is beyond overwhelmed at the amazing support she has received and that her story has resonated with so many people,» he wrote. «Thank you!»
The fundraiser was launched to help Stewart, her partner and their young daughter through what her family described as a heartbreaking situation. The money will support her recovery, prosthetics, rehabilitation, ongoing care and the major adjustments she will need as she works toward returning to life as a mother.
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Her family also thanked the lifesavers, first responders, helicopter crew and medical team at St. Vincent’s Hospital who helped care for Stewart after the attack.
«As a family we are shocked and devastated that this could happen to our beloved partner, daughter and mother who is so full of life and energy,» Joshua Stewart wrote.
sharks, australia, new zealand, travel safety, beach
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