A massive American flag was unfurled at the Pentagon Monday morning, and Americans are gathering across the country to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks. 

President Biden, who is returning to Washington, D.C., following a trip overseas to India and Vietnam, is set to speak later today at a ceremony at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, while Vice President Kamala Harris is among the elected officials who will attend events at the National September 11 Memorial in New York City. 

Communities across the country are paying tribute with moments of silence, tolling bells, candlelight vigils and other activities. 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. 

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On September 11, 2001, "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," Eddie Ferguson, the fire-rescue chief in Virginia’s Goochland County, told The Associated Press. 

The county, which has a memorial made with steel from the World Trade Center towers, is holding two events today to reflect on 9/11. 

One is a morning ceremony honoring first responders and the second is an evening ceremony for the rest of the community. 

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"On September 11, 2023, it will have been 22 years since the attacks in Arlington, Virginia, New York City, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania," the county said on its website. "Goochland County Department of Fire-Rescue & Emergency Services has taken on the responsibility to honor the bravery that was displayed on this day, and to ensure we remember those innocent lives lost." 

A public ceremony is also taking place this morning around 9:50 a.m. ET at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, followed by a wreath-laying event later this afternoon. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.