President Biden will travel to New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania on Sept. 11 to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks at all three sites where they occurred, the White House announced Saturday.

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       Biden will be accompanied by first lady Jill Biden when he visits Lower Manhattan in New York City; Shanksville, Pa.; and the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., where planes crashed after terrorists hijacked them Sept. 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people.

       Vice President Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff will travel to Shanksville for a separate event, then join the Bidens at the Pentagon, the White House said.

       Biden’s visits will come less than two weeks after the last U.S. troops departed Afghanistan on Aug. 31, ending the nearly 20-year war that was launched as a response to the 2001 attacks.

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       Biden has defended his decision to end the nation’s longest war, saying the United States had accomplished its goals, which were “to get the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 and to deliver justice to Osama Bin Laden,” as well as to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a haven for future terrorists.

       The White House announcement Saturday was the first time Biden’s plans for the 20th anniversary of the attacks were made public. While campaigning for president last year, Biden visited Ground Zero and Shanksville, Pa.

       Families of hundreds of 9/11 victims told Biden last month that he would not be welcome at this year’s memorial events marking the 20th anniversary of the attacks unless he declassified government evidence beforehand that could link Saudi Arabia to the attack, according to a letter sent to the White House in August.

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       On Friday, he signed an executive order that would require the review, declassification and release of classified government documents related to the terrorist attacks.

       The order also set a timeline for the review process, which drew praise from lawmakers and cautious optimism from several 9/11 families.

       “We look forward to thanking President Biden in person next week as he joins us at Ground Zero to honor those who died or were injured 20 years ago,” Brett Eagleson, who lost his father on 9/11 and is an advocate for many victims’ families, said in a statement after Biden announced the executive order.