At the end of that tragic day on Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren and other lawmakers informally gathered on the steps of the nation’s Capitol then someone in the group began singing, “God Bless America,” the San Jose congresswoman vividly recalled Friday.
“I remember that so clearly because we didn’t have divisions about party members,” Lofgren said. “We were there as Americans, and I think we can take a lesson from that time and that tragedy that Americans can conquer anything if we are unified as Americans.”
Rafael Villasana of Gilroy becomes emotional during the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
Lofgren was speaking at the Patriot Day ceremony in downtown San Jose, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and paying tribute to not only those that lost their lives that day but the first responders who saved lives at the risk of their own.
The tribute began with a procession of members of the San Jose Fire Department, San Jose Police Department and Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office who assembled in front of St. Joseph Cathedral Basilica on Market Street and marched north to Fire Station No. 1.
San Jose Fire Department Honor Guard and firefighters and law enforcement officers from multiple agencies march down Market Street during the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
They were led by the San Jose Police Emerald Society pipe and drum band and two vintage fire department vehicles — Lofgren, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and San Jose City Councilmember David Cohen rode in one; City Manager Jennifer Maguire, Vice Mayor Pam Foley and City Councilmember Rosemary Kamei rode in another. State Sen. Dave Cortese, Assemblymember Ash Kalra and San Jose City Councilmember Bien Doan walked the route, trailing a 1970s era police car and passing beneath a giant U.S. flag raised by two SJFD ladder trucks.
Assistant Fire Chief James Dobson led the “last alarm” tribute to fallen first responders, as the Memorial Bell installed in front of the station rang out in a series of three rings repeated three times.
Many who spoke touched on common themes about the unity of the country in the days following the attacks, the bravery of first responders who ran into danger to save lives and the nation’s responsibility to address their continuing health issues. Acknowledging those in the audience who were too young to remember the attacks or might not have been born yet, some speakers shared stories about people they knew who were killed that day or recalled what their own lives were like at the time.
Attendees are reflected in a framed Flag of Honor, which was created with the names of those who died in the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, during the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President Otto Lee, a retired U.S. Navy commander who attended in uniform, pointed out where the focus should be during Sept. 11 commemorations, obliquely rebuking comments made recently by President Trump, though Lee did not name him. Trump has claimed that two firefighters lifted him up and carried him away from a seemingly unstable building when he visited the area shortly after the terrorist attacks. There is no evidence backing that claim and it has been called into question by at least one former fire official who was involved in the recovery effort.
“This tragedy belongs, first and foremost, to the people who were there, the families who lost loved ones and the first responders who put themselves in harm’s way,” he said. “And so no one should embellish, or invent, a connection to Sept. 11 simply to make themselves look more courageous and heroic.”
San Jose Fire Chief Robert Sapien Jr. was among the last speakers and said his department proudly takes on the responsibility of ensuring that 9/11 is never forgotten in the city. Each Sept. 11, the department conducts the bell ceremony at 5:46 a.m. PDT — the same time the first plane struck the World Trade Center’s north tower — but without the large crowd that gathered for this year’s anniversary.
“We do so to remember all the lives lost, to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice and to signal clearly that we endure and thrive as a community and that we are in service to our community,” he said.
Firefighters from multiple agencies wait before marching down Market Street during the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Fire Department Honor Guard and firefighters and law enforcement officers from multiple agencies march down Market Street during the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph marches down Market Street during the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, right, and U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren acknowledge community members during the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
Firefighters from multiple agencies march down Market Street during the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
Genesis Samarron, 11, of San Jose, left, and her mother, Ruth Salas, right, attend the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Fire Chief Robert Sapien Jr. speaks during the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
U.S. Rep. Sam Liccardo walks up to the podium to speak during the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)