Patriot Day 2027 is on Saturday

About Patriot Day

On the morning of September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four passenger planes. Two struck the towers of the World Trade Center in New York, one struck the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the fourth crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew fought back. Patriot Day honors the people who died that day, the firefighters, police officers and other first responders who went toward the danger, and the families who still carry the loss. The 2026 presidential proclamation put the number of victims at 2,977.

Congress designated September 11 as Patriot Day in a joint resolution signed on December 18, 2001 (Public Law 107-89), now codified at 36 U.S.C. 144. The law asks the president to issue a proclamation each year calling on Americans to mark the day with programs and activities, on federal agencies to fly the flag at half-staff, and on everyone to observe a moment of silence. Recent proclamations set that moment for 8:46 a.m. Eastern time, when the first plane struck the North Tower.

In 2009 the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act (Public Law 111-13) added a second purpose, asking that September 11 also be recognized as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. Many proclamations since then have used both names and encouraged volunteering as a way to honor those who died, and AmeriCorps coordinates service projects for the day.

Patriot Day is not a federal holiday. Government offices, schools and businesses stay open, though many pause for ceremonies. Memorial services are held each year at the three sites of the attacks: the National September 11 Memorial in New York, where the victims' names are read aloud, the Pentagon, and the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville.

Sources: 36 U.S. Code § 144 - Patriot Day (Cornell Legal Information Institute), Federal Register: Proclamation 10807, Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance, 2024, Federal Register: Patriot Day 2026, the 25th Anniversary of the September 11 Terrorist Attacks. How we check dates.

How to mark Patriot Day

• Pause for a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. Eastern time, or at the local time your community holds its observance.
• Fly the US flag at half-staff from sunrise to sunset, as the annual proclamation requests.
• Volunteer for a service project in your area, in keeping with the National Day of Service and Remembrance.
• Watch the reading of the names from the National September 11 Memorial in New York, or visit a local memorial or fire station that holds a ceremony.
• Talk with younger family members or students, who were born after 2001, about what happened and how the country responded, using material from the 9/11 Memorial & Museum or the National Park Service.

Patriot Day dates