Biden to mark 9/11 anniversary in Alaska, Harris visits ground zero

President Joe Biden will mark the 22nd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in Alaska on Monday afternoon.

Biden will deliver remarks to more than 1,000 service members, first responders and their families at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, the White House said.

Biden has been overseas to attend the G20 summit in India and to visit Vietnam in an effort to further shore up U.S. relations with key partners in Asia amid China's rising influence.

He departed Vietnam early Monday morning for Anchorage. Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his condolences for the "tremendous losses incurred" during the Sept. 11 attacks, and Biden thanked him for expressing "sentiment and concern."

Biden has faced some criticism for not participating in traditional ceremonies at the White House, at the Pentagon or in New York.

Vice President Kamala Harris represented the administration at the commemoration ceremony at ground zero in lower Manhattan on Monday morning. She was surrounded by local leaders Gov. Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and others.

The process of identifying the lives lost continues decades after two planes hit the World Trade Center. Just last week, two new victims were identified as the 1,648th and 1,649th victim of the 2,753 people killed at the Twin Towers.

The New York City Fire Department this week also added 43 names to a memorial wall remembering firefighters, paramedics and civilian support staff members who died from illnesses related to rescue and recovery efforts after the attack.

The first year of his presidency, Biden visited all three attack sites. Last year, he delivered remarks at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.

"It's good to remember," he said at last year's ceremony. "These memories help us heal, but they can also open up the hurt and take us back to that moment when the grief was so raw."

Last week, Biden rejected proposed conditions for a plea deal for five Guantanamo Bay detainees for their alleged roles aiding in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

On Monday's anniversary, first lady Jill Biden will lay a wreath at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Arlington and second gentleman Doug Emhoff was scheduled to travel to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, for a memorial observance for Flight 93.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed that in a string of coordinated attacks by the terrorist group al-Qaida. Forty individuals died on Flight 93 and 184 lives were lost at the Pentagon.

ABC News' Ben Gittleson and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.

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