United States Embassies in Samoa, New Zealand and around the world are honouring the lives lost in the terrorist attacks of 11 September, 2001, known in American and world history as "9/11."

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the infamous date in 2001, during which George W. Bush was the country's 43rd President. The city's Mayor Rudy Giuliani shot to international fame as a result of the attacks.

The most devastating in history, Saudi born terrorist Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for the attacks as the work of his terror cell al-Qaea.

The U.S. Embassy in New Zealand has published invitations on Twitter and Facebook calling on its readers to “commemorate the 20th anniversary of September 11 with us” online.

There will be an opportunity to interact with representatives from the New York City Fire Department (F.D.N.Y.) and Fire and Emergency  New Zealand, former New Zealand Prime Minister (and Prime Minister at the time) Helen Clark.

The online event will be moderated by Chargé d’affaires, Kevin Covert, the U.S. Embassy in New Zealand says.

“We will never forget,” the Embassy said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The event will be livestreamed on www.state.gov.

He is scheduled to join the U.S. Department of State workforce to honour the lives and memories of “those we lost,” according to an official communication released on 9 September by the U.S. Government. 

“Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will join the Department of State workforce in honoring the lives and memories of those we lost in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks,” the statement says.

 Secretary Blinken will host the ceremony at 9 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Friday, 10 September, at the Department of State. 

Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins will moderate the event and provide opening remarks.

The Samoa Observer sent questions to the U.S. Embassy in Apia, Samoa about local events that will commemorate 9/11.

A reply was not immediately received.

New York's medical examiner’s office is still working to painstakingly identify 9/11 victims, reports the New York Times.

There are 1,106 victims whose remains have not been identified.

“For 20 years, the medical examiner’s office has quietly conducted the largest missing persons investigation ever undertaken in the nation — testing and retesting the 22,000 body parts painstakingly recovered from wreckage after the attacks,” the New York Times reports.

“Scientists are still testing the vast inventory of unidentified remains for a genetic connection to the 1,106 victims — roughly 40 percent of the ground zero death toll — who are still without a match so that their families can reclaim the remains for a proper burial.”

The attack involved the hijacking of four commercial airliners which were subsequently flown into large buildings, symbolic of American power, including two towers at the World Trade Centre. 

One plane was flown into America's national security repository, the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C. Only a fourth hijacked plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania after the passengers apparently attempted to overcome the hijackers. 

Almost 3,000 people died that day, including more than 400 emergency workers.

With the perspective of hindsight it can be seen that that single day set off a chain reaction of events that would ultimately define America's security and foreign policy for two decades, including the invasion of Afghanistan and then Iraq.

The American army has only just withdrawn from Afghanistan in what critics have said was a hasty and botched job: but it does represent a break with the Middle East theatre of war that followed from this singular day.