Even 23 years later, the scar still remains.

On Wednesday, the U.S. mourned the lives taken and those reshaped by 9/11 — the date when hijacked plane attacks killed nearly 3,000 people in 2001.

Cathy Naughton came to honor her cousin Michael Roberts, one of hundreds of firefighters killed.

Twenty-three years later, “it’s just so raw,” she said. “We want to make sure people remember always, and say the names always and never forget.”

“Every year, it just doesn’t get easier,” she added.

The attacks by 19 men — most of them Saudi Arabian — killed 2,977 people and left thousands of bereaved relatives and scarred survivors. The planes carved a gash in the Pentagon, the U.S. military headquarters, where an American flag was unfurled at dawn Wednesday in tribute. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that while it may seem that many Americans don’t observe 9/11 anniversaries anymore, “the men and women of the Department of Defense remember.”

The attacks altered U.S. foreign policy, domestic security practices and the mindset of many Americans who had not previously felt vulnerable to attacks by foreign extremists.

Effects rippled around the world and through generations as the U.S. responded by leading a ” Global War on Terrorism,” which included invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Those operations killed hundreds of thousands of Afghans and Iraqis and thousands of American troops, and Afghanistan became the site of the United States’ longest war.

As the complex legacy of 9/11 continues to evolve, communities around the country have developed remembrance traditions that range from laying wreaths to displaying flags, from marches to police radio messages. Volunteer projects also mark the anniversary, which Congress has titled both Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

During early anniversaries at ground zero, presidents and other officeholders read poems, parts of the Declaration of Independence and other texts.

But the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum decided in 2012 to limit the ceremony to relatives reading victims’ names. Politicians and candidates still have been able to attend the event.

Some relatives have used the forum to bemoan Americans’ divisions, exhort leaders to prioritize national security, acknowledge the casualties of the war on terror, complain that officials are politicizing 9/11 and even criticize individual officeholders. Others appeal for peace.

“It’s my prayer that this wicked act called terrorism will never occur again,” said Jacob Afuakwah, the brother of victim Emmanuel Akwasi Afuakwah, a restaurant worker.

But most readers stick to tributes and personal reflections. Increasingly they come from children and young adults who were born after the attacks killed a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle.

Despite the tense political divisions in this country, we believe that 9/11 is a day that all Americans can come together and remember one of our country’s darkest days, and also remember the brave men and and women who risked their lives to help others. The horrific events that took place should never be forgotten — but even more so, the Americans we lost should always be in our minds on this anniversary.