The first of several moments of silence at New York’s annual September 11 ceremony was rife with emotion Monday – as Americans mark 22 years since the attacks took thousands of lives in New York City, Pennsylvania, and Arlington, Virginia.

Moments before, in a taste of the ceremonies set to take place nationwide, officials in Virginia unfurled US flag on the west side of the Pentagon – the same site where one of the hijacked planes struck.

The attacks happened quickly – claiming nearly 3,000 lives and counting as illnesses to this day continue to affect first responders. The North Tower was hit at 8:46 am, then 17 minutes later the South. A third hijacked plane ripped a hole into the western side of the Pentagon at 9:37 am – leaving another 184 lives lost.

A flag has been unfurled at the site each year since – celebrating the bravery that was on display from first responders as well as countless Good Samaritans who jumped into action that day. There, Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were among those participated in a moment of silence at Monday morning’s ceremony.

Other commemorations currently being held stretch from the other attack sites, and to Alaska and beyond. Joe Biden is due at a ceremony on a military base in Anchorage, and Kamala Harris – in a rare public appearance – is currently at the procession at Ground Zero. 

Others in attendance included Ron DeSantis and Michael Bloomberg – the successor to the mayor at the time of the tragedy, Rudy Giuliani. Despite recent legal woes, the man known as America’s Mayor made the time to attend, as did Mayor Eric Adams.

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Also spotted in the crowd was New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who joined Harris in the crowd for the traditional name reading and the tolling of the bells. 

In total, six moments of silence will be observed – commemorating when each of the towers was struck and collapsed, as well as the times corresponding to the attack on the Pentagon and the crash of United Flight 93. 

The first was held after the tolling of the bells at 8:46am, which marks the beginning of the attacks – when hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into floors 93 through 99 of the North Tower. The impact killed all 92 on board.

At 9:03am, a second moment of silence was held – marking when hijackers deliberately crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into floors 77 through 85 of the South Tower – leaving no doubt in any New Yorkers’ mind at the time that the attacks were planned and malicious in nature.

The next was at 9:37am, when another group of terrorists deliberately crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon, just outside the nation’s capital.

A fourth was then held at 9:59am to mark the moment the South Tower, the second structure to be hit, collapsed, with another slated for four minutes later – to mark the moment passengers on United 93 heroically stormed the cockpit in a bid to retake the plane from their attackers.

In response, the hijackers crashed the plane into an empty field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania – likely saving many lives, as many theorized the plane’s target was either the White House or the Capitol. 

The final moment of silent mourning, meanwhile, is slated for 10:28 am – the time that The North Tower collapsed, leaving the 16-acre World Trade Center site in ruins and the collective US consciousness in tatters. 

However, across the country, the rescue effort commenced immediately – a taste of the resilience present in the heart of countless Americans in the centuries before, and after, the senseless tragedy.

The president’s visit, en route to Washington, D.C., from a politically driven trip to India and Vietnam, is a reminder that the impact of 9/11 was felt in every corner of the nation, however remote it may be. 

On that day, ‘we were one country, one nation, one people, just like it should be. That was the feeling – that everyone came together and did what we could, where we were at, to try to help,’ said Eddie Ferguson, the fire-rescue chief in Virginia’s Goochland County.

More than 100 miles from the Pentagon and more than three times as far from New York, the site – like dozens of others across the US – share a sense of connection is enshrined in a local memorial incorporating steel from the World Trade Center´s destroyed twin towers.

The predominantly rural county of 25,000 people holds not just one but two anniversary commemorations: a morning service focused on first responders and an evening ceremony honoring all the victims.

Other communities across the country pay tribute with moments of silence, tolling bells, candlelight vigils and other activities. 

In Shanksville, volunteers at the Flight 93 National Memorial were seen placing a wreath at the entrance of the memorial plaza early Monday, to honor the passengers who heroically stormed the cockpit forcing hijackers to crash in a field only a few miles from Washington, DC.

In Arlington, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin participated in a wreath laying ceremony to honor the 184 people killed at the Pentagon – the last of the tree crash sites. 

In Columbus, Indiana, 911 dispatchers broadcast a remembrance message to police, fire and EMS radios throughout the 50,000-person city, which also holds a public memorial ceremony.

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts raise and lower the flag at a commemoration in Fenton, Missouri, where a ‘Heroes Memorial’ includes a piece of World Trade Center steel and a plaque honoring 9/11 victim Jessica Leigh Sachs. Some of her relatives live in the St. Louis suburb of 4,000 residents.

‘We´re just a little bitty community,’ said Mayor Joe Maurath, but ‘it´s important for us to continue to remember these events. Not just 9/11, but all of the events that make us free.’

New Jersey’s Monmouth County, which was home to some 9/11 victims, made Sept. 11 a holiday this year for county employees so they could attend commemorations.

As another way of marking the anniversary, many Americans do volunteer work on what Congress has designated both Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

At ground zero, Harris – after facing criticism for a lack of public appearances for the past three years – joined famous faces in Giuliani, DeSantis, Hochul, and Bloomberg in the ceremony on the National September 11 Memorial and Museum plaza. 

The event will not feature remarks from political figures, instead giving the podium to victims’ relatives for an hourslong reading of the names of the dead.

James Giaccone signed up to read again this year in memory of his brother, Joseph Giaccone, 43. The family attends the ceremony every year to hear Joseph’s name.

‘If their name is spoken out loud, they don’t disappear,’ James Giaccone said in a recent interview.

The commemoration is crucial to him.

‘I hope I never see the day when they minimize this,’ he said. ‘It’s a day that changed history.’

Biden, meanwhile, will be the first president to commemorate September 11 in Alaska, or anywhere in the western U.S. 

Havin attended last year’s memorial in Arlington, he’s already facing criticism for the unprecedented decision not to mark the anniversary of 9/11 at one of the three crash sites.

Instead he will spend just two hours at Joint Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska with service members and first responders on his way home from a 24-hour trip to Vietnam dominated by a shambolic and rambling press conference.

He and his predecessors have gone to one or another of the attack sites in most years, though Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Barack Obama each marked the anniversary on the White House lawn at times. Obama followed one of those observances by recognizing the military with a visit to Fort Meade in Maryland.

First lady Jill Biden is due to lay a wreath at the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon.

In Pennsylvania, where one of the hijacked jets crashed after passengers tried to storm the cockpit, a remembrance and wreath-laying is scheduled at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stoystown operated by the National Park Service. Harris´ husband, Doug Emhoff, is expected to attend the ceremony.

The memorial site will offer a new educational video, virtual tour and other materials for teachers to use in classrooms. Educators with a total of more than 10,000 students have registered for access to the free ‘National Day of Learning’ program, which will be available through the fall, organizers say.

‘We need to get the word out to the next generation,’ said memorial spokesperson Katherine Hostetler, a National Park Service ranger.

Family and friends of the late Jock Zonfrillo made an emotional exit from a Sydney chapel on Saturday morning as they farewelled the celebrity chef.

The Masterchef judge, who died on April 30 aged 46, was laid to rest in a private funeral surrounded by a small group of family and friends. 

Zonfrillo’s widow Lauren Fried, who shares children, Alfie, six, and Isla, two, with her late husband, was among the pallbearers who led a close-knit of mourners out of the small chapel after celebrating his life.

She carried his coffin alongside Zonfrillo’s fellow Masterchef judge Andy Allen and four other men.

Zonfrillo’s coffin was covered with the Royal Banner of Scotland and adorned with white orchids.

The Royal Banner is a nod to the chef’s Scottish heritage. He was born and raised in Glasgow.

A Scottish marcher played the bagpipes as the pallbearers exited the chapel.

Guests exited the venue in silence, while Allen looked visibly emotional – breaking down in tears while carrying Zonfrillo’s coffin.

As guests arrived for the morning service, a black and white photograph of Zonfrillo was also placed inside the Sydney chapel.

Guests were dressed head-to-toe in black as friends, family, and notable stars solemnly led the arrivals.

Among those who attended were Zonfrillo’s fellow Masterchef judges Melissa Leong – who was visibly emotional and comforted by her friends as she went inside – Andy Allen and his pregnant wife Alex Davey, former Masterchef judge George Calombaris, and celebrity chef Shannon Bennett.

Other TV chefs who turned out to pay their respects included My Kitchen Rules stars Manu Feidel and Colin Fassnidge, as well as Miguel Maestre and Matt Moran.

Irish-born Fassnidge was distraught following the sombre farewell and was seen holding his hand to his face and he fought back tears.

Feidel wrapped his arm around Moran as they comforted each other while leaving the emotional service. 

Jimmy Barnes had arrived alone to the memorial, but was later joined by daughter Mahalia as they sang Amazing Grace together, while former Australian of the Year Grace Tame attended with her fiancé Max Heerey.

Wheelchair tennis champion and 2022 Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott also paid his respects.

Following the memorial, Fassnidge shared a photo of his hand grasping a glass of whiskey on the rocks as he and a group of others attended a ‘random pub’.

The grief-stricken celebrity chef sat at a tartan-patterned tablecloth – the pattern is often associated with Scotland, where Zonfrillo was born, as Scottish kilts most often have tartan patterns.

‘Very fitting the random pub we drop in for a farewell whiskey,’ he wrote alongside the photo. 

The service has been kept firmly under wraps by Fried, who sent out invitations for the Sydney interment earlier this week.

They were accompanied with strict instructions for family and celebrity friends to not reveal any details about the funeral.

Fried also revealed to guests there would be no wake held after the burial, an attendee told the publication on Saturday.

‘The family just wants it to happen without any of the attention his death has attracted, which has understandably been overwhelming,’ they said. 

The funeral patron added: ‘They’re trying to keep it as personal as they can. It’s critical they be given the space to do that.’

While Zonfrillo and his family resided in Melbourne during his role on MasterChef, Fried chose to host his funeral in Sydney. 

She reportedly chose the location as she originally hails from Sydney, where her extended family is based, and it’s where Zonfrillo first moved to from Glasgow 23 years ago.

Zonfrillo died in his hotel room at Zagame’s House on Lygon Street in Carlton, Melbourne on April 30 and was found by police at about 2am on Monday, May 1 – the same day Channel Ten was meant to premiere the fifteenth season of MasterChef Australia. 

They were responding to a welfare check called in by his wife who was in Italy at the time with their son and daughter. 

The media personality was scheduled for several publicity engagements for season 15 of MasterChef when he died suddenly. 

Daily Mail Australia can reveal that when the police entered the hotel room to conduct a welfare check, officers believed that Zonfrillo had died of natural causes and didn’t find anything that suggested otherwise.

There was also no drug paraphernalia found in the hotel room, sources said.

In the wake of the tragic news, Zonfrillo’s fellow Masterchef judges Melissa Leong and Andy Allen pulled out of all media appearances to promote the cooking show’s return.

The season premiere was rescheduled to Sunday, May 7.

Zonfrillo is survived by his third wife, Lauren Fried, and his four children: grown-up daughters Ava and Sophia, from his first two marriages, and six-year-old Alfie and two-year-old Isla, with Fried.