25 years after 9/11 attacks, America reflects and remembers

A moment of silence was held for all those lost at the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. That was the moment Flight 77 struck the Pentagon.

President Trump folded his hands in front of him then saluted to observe the moment.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Vanessa Minter, an American Airlines reservations agent, answered flight attendant Betty Ong's call from one of the hijacked planes.

"The cockpit's not answering. Somebody's stabbed in business class and um, I think there's mace, we can't breathe," Ong said on the call. "I don't know, I think we're getting hijacked."

In an exclusive interview with CBS News, Minter said she was amazed by the flight attendant's bravery and composure.

"I had to ask myself could I have done that because she was literally a pillar," Minter said. "She knew what she was doing, she knew what information we needed and she was all business."

"The last thing she said to me was pray for us and my supervisor took over my phone call and the line went dead. Which was when they hit the World Trade Center," she said.

Twenty-five years later, Minter finally met Ong's family in person. Watch the emotional interview here.

At the Pentagon, the names of the 125 people who died in the Pentagon were read aloud. All 59 passengers aboard Flight 77 also died.

The Pentagon ceremony began at 9 a.m., with President Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on stage.

The ceremony is honoring those who died aboard Flight 77, which struck the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. on Sept. 11, and all those who died on the Pentagon grounds.

The names of those who died in the attacks of Sept. 11 are being read Friday at the remembrance ceremony in New York City. Children and grandchildren of 9/11 victims are among those participating.

The reading of the names began as American cellist Yo-Yo Ma performed a musical tribute.

Crowds have gathered at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in Lower Manhattan for the remembrance ceremony getting underway Friday morning.