Patriot Day

In the United States, Patriot Day, observed as the National Day of Service and Remembrance,[1] occurs on September 11 of each year in memory of the 2,977 killed in the 2001 September 11 attacks.

A bill to make September 11 a national day of mourning was introduced in the U.S. House on October 25, 2001, by Rep. Vito Fossella (R-NY) with 22 co-sponsors, among them eleven Democrats and eleven Republicans.[3] The bill requested that the President designate September 11 of each year as "Patriot Day". Joint Resolution 71 passed the House by a vote of 407–0, with 25 members not voting.[4] The bill passed the Senate unanimously on November 30. President George W. Bush signed the resolution into law on December 18 as Pub.L. 107–89.[5] On September 4, 2002, Bush used the authority of the resolution to proclaim September 11, 2002 as the first Patriot Day.

The Flag of the United States is flown at half-staff at the White House and on all U.S. government buildings and establishments throughout the world; flags are also encouraged to be displayed on individual American homes. Additionally, a moment of silence is observed to correspond with the attacks, beginning at 8:46 A.M. (Eastern Daylight Time), the time the first plane, American Airlines Flight 11, struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.