Across the country, the 25th anniversary of  the 9/11 terrorist attacks will be marked in different ways, but with a shared purpose.

Remembering that fateful September day and honoring those lost. 

But as time marches on, the attacks that took close to 3,000 lives in 2001 become a more distant memory.

“Twenty-five years is long enough that some young people weren't alive when 9/11 happened, so remembering it isn't just about looking backward; it's about ensuring future generations understand what happened and the human cost that followed,” said Benjamin Krause, managing partner of Krause Law PLCC, a Minnesota-based law firm.

Krause is a retired U.S. Air Force veteran. He’s a veterans rights advocate and founder of DisabledVeterans.org.

“We should remember the nearly 3,000 people who were killed, honor the first responders and ordinary Americans who stepped forward, and recognize the generations of military families and veterans whose lives were changed by the response to 9/11,” Krause said.

The Minnesota attorney said his advocacy and legal practice help veterans and their families, including from the 9/11 era, navigate healthcare and disability systems, as well as transitions to civilian life.  

The aftermath of the attacks saw an increase in military enlistments and those entering public safety fields. It also sparked the U.S. war in Afghanistan and set the stage for the U.S. war in Iraq and the subsequent American occupations of those two countries.

Airport security checkpoint screenings, the creation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Patriot Act security and surveillance laws were all born from Sept. 11. 

Another post-9/11 law expanded  presidential powers “to prevent any future acts of international terrorism.”

RESCUE MISSION

Suzanne DeLaurentiis, a filmmaker, is also honoring the heroes of 9/11 with a new film.

She is the executive producer of “Boatlift 9/11,” about how scores of boats helped transport people stranded in Manhattan after the 2001 attacks.

DeLaurentiis said approximately 550,000 people were transported via boats, including those manned by scores of volunteer mariners, out of Manhattan in the 12 hours after the attacks.

“It was the largest maritime rescue in the world,” she said, noting the famous British evacuation at Dunkirk during World War II when 330,000 British, French and Dutch troops were evacuated from northern France over the course of nine days.

The film debuts on Sept. 11 at the Fine Arts Theater in Beverly Hills as well as nationally via Pure Flix.

“It’s very important we don’t take our freedom for granted, not even for a minute," DeLaurentiis said.

‘IT’S PERSONAL’

The aftermath of 9/11 in New York has resulted in significant health problems for rescue and recovery workers, as well as for those living or working in lower Manhattan after the towers fell.

They were exposed to toxic dust and toxins from Ground Zero.

Michael Barasch, managing partner with Barasch & McGarry (a Manhattan law firm), wants to make sure those with post-9/11 health ailments are taken care of and remembered.

Barasch said the U.S. government deemed the area near the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan safe five days after the 2001 attacks.

“The government assured us that the air was safe to breathe,” Barasch said. “We found out that wasn't true.”

His New York firm has secured more than $3 billion in compensation for 25,000 firefighters and their families.

Twenty-five years later, adverse health impacts for those in lower Manhattan extend beyond the rescue and recovery workers and emergency responders who were at Ground Zero.

Barasch said 300,000 downtown office workers, 50,000 students and 25,000 residents were all exposed to toxins from Ground Zero.

The result has been cases of cancer, chronic illnesses as well as respiratory and digestive problems.
“Fifty-nine cancers have now been linked and dozens of respiratory illnesses,” said Barasch, noting illnesses and cancers suffered by himself and others at his lower Manhattan law firm.

The New York attorney said many of those eligible have not enrolled in the program, which runs until 2090.

Barasch also encouraged those who were at Ground Zero, the Pentagon or Shanksville, Pennsylvania during and after the attacks, as well as those working, living or going to school in lower Manhattan after 9/11, to enroll in the World Trade Center Health Program.

It provides medical benefits for those impacted by the terror strikes and the aftermath.

“My office was just three blocks away,” Barasch said “We take this so personally,” he said.

'TEACH AND REMEMBER'

Whitney Munro is making the 25th anniversary of 9/11 a personal day of community service.

Munro is founder and CEO of FLEX Partners, a Dallas-based business, communications and artificial intelligence consulting firm with remote workers across the country.

The firm is giving its employees the day off of work on 9/11 to serve their communities and honor those lost and those who were inspired to serve after the attacks.

“It's really important to me that 9/11 doesn't become ‘another day in the history books’ but is something we teach and remember,” Munro said. “My son is 19, and we have worked to make sure he knows the story of that day and the aftermath.”