We're 9/11 widows. Twenty-five years later, we're still fighting for promises kept

Twenty-five years ago, 11 children lost their fathers in three families. One had not yet been born. Ronald Breitweiser, of Middletown, was murdered in the South Tower, leaving his wife, Kristen, and their young daughter. John Ryan, of Princeton Junction, was murdered in the South Tower, leaving three children. FDNY Lt. Vincent Halloran, North Salem, NY, died after climbing toward danger to save others and ensuring his men escaped the North Tower before it collapsed. He left behind five young sons and his wife, Marie, who was pregnant with their sixth child, a daughter who would never know her father. Three fathers. Eleven children. One unborn little girl. Their story is only a small part of a much larger one. Nearly 3,000 people were murdered on Sept. 11, 2001. Thousands of spouses became widows and widowers. Thousands of children lost parents. For most Americans, Sept. 11 is remembered as a day. For us, it became a lifetime. The country witnessed Sept. 11. We have lived its consequences for 25 years. Much has been written about the attacks, government failures, intelligence, military commissions, litigation and politics. Far less has been written about what happened to the families afterward. This is that story. The lives left behind In the weeks and months after the attacks, many widows and children were simply trying to survive, raising children, maintaining homes and navigating lives that had been fundamentally altered. Few had the capacity or knowledge to navigate Congress, federal agencies or the legal system. Over time, three very different journeys became part of a shared effort. Kristen Breitweiser transformed her loss into public advocacy, helping lead the 9/11 family movement and the effort that resulted in the creation of the 9/11 Commission. Marie Halloran raised six children, including a daughter born after Sept. 11, while leading the Vincent G. Halloran Fund for Children for a decade. Patty Ryan guided her three children forward while later advocating for children's grief and greater equity for widows and children within federal terrorism-compensation systems. Different journeys. One shared purpose: ensuring that those who were murdered continued to have a voice through the families they left behind. None of us imagined becoming advocates. We imagined growing old with the people we loved. Instead, we inherited responsibilities they could no longer carry. Our work began with a search for truth, followed by accountability, and ultimately fairness. A search for fairness For more than a decade, we have worked with other families, members of Congress, attorneys, economists and policy experts to ask a simple question: Have the promises made to 9/11 families been kept? When answers were not forthcoming, we sought independent analysis. Pro bono attorneys at Akin Gump conducted an independent legal analysis of the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund (USVSSTF), while economists at Edgeworth Economics independently analyzed the Fund's payment history. Their work identified significant disparities affecting 9/11-related claimants, particularly widows and children, and raised serious questions about whether the Fund's methodology produces the equitable outcomes Congress intended. Our advocacy has never been about special treatment. It has always been about equal treatment. The USVSSTF is a federally created program designed to compensate victims holding judgments against state sponsors of terrorism. Like any federal program distributing billions of dollars, it should be transparent, accountable and subject to meaningful oversight. Yet despite operating for nearly a decade, the Fund has not been the subject of comprehensive congressional oversight examining whether its payment methodology produces equitable outcomes for all eligible victims. That matters because the consequences of Sept. 11 did not end when the towers fell. They continue through the families who survived. In 2022, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights while countering terrorism examined the long-term legacy of Sept. 11 and recognized the enduring burdens carried by widows and children, the continuing need for support, and the importance of truth, justice, information and victims' rights. The report also recognized that the 9/11 community is not represented by a single voice, but by families with different experiences, priorities and perspectives. We did not need a United Nations report to tell us what 25 years have been like. We have lived them. But it mattered that an independent review recognized that terrorism's consequences extend far beyond the day of the attack. Remembering is not enough Every September, America remembers. Names are read. Flags are lowered. 'Never Forget' is repeated. Those moments matter. But remembrance is also a responsibility. It means listening to the families who have carried this loss for 25 years. It means examining whether the systems created in our loved ones' names are fulfilling the promises they were intended to keep. And it means continuing to pursue truth, accountability, transparency and fairness long after the rest of the country has moved forward. Twenty-five years ago, our husbands left for work expecting to come home. They never did. We did not choose to become advocates. Those roles were entrusted to us by the people who could no longer speak for themselves. Twenty-five years is long enough. The next chapter should be measured not by words, anniversaries or promises, but by action, and by whether the systems created in our loved ones' names finally deliver the justice and fairness they were intended to provide. Kristen Breitweiser, Marie Halloran and Patricia Ryan are three widows of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City. Together, they have spent the last 25 years fighting for justice and fair compensation for all widows and children after the attack from the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism (USVSST) Fund.