On a clear Tuesday morning, the world watched in horror as American Airlines flight 11 slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Soon, the blue skies of New York City were cloaked by plumes of black smoke, spreading chaos and fear. In just that one moment, around 1,356 innocent lives were taken from their families. September 11, 2001 is a tragic part of the history of the United States; it is a day we can never forget.
September 11, 2001 marks the date of one of the deadliest terror attacks in modern history. Four commercial airplanes were hijacked by the Islamic extremist terror group al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden. The two more well-known attacks are marked by the two planes that hit the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. The North Tower was hit first at 8:46 AM between floors 93 and 99, and the South Tower was hit just seventeen minutes later between floors 77 and 85, and fell faster than its counterpart. While many died on impact, others faced harsher fates, trapped inside of the collapsing towers with no escape to turn to. However, amid the tragedy, many heroes rose up and helped save countless lives that day. The people of America are forever grateful for the emergency services that evacuated thousands of people to safety, risking their own lives for others. They ascended and descended countless flights of stairs, going towards death to help others find life. After the towers collapsed, first responders endured stressful sleepless nights, trying to find any survivors within the rubble for days at a time. In the end, these heroes saved about 25,000 people during 9/11, but casualties rose to 441 first responder deaths, 343 of them being firefighters. In total, 2,977 people lost their lives in the attacks of 9/11.
The world tends to forget the other attacks that occurred during September 11, including the third plane that crashed into the Pentagon. American Airlines flight 77 hit the Pentagon 9:37 AM, killing 135 innocent people and damaging a large section of the Pentagon’s outer wall. A fourth commercial plane was also part of the attack, but it was heroically stopped. United Airlines flight 93 was hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists and diverted in the direction of the White House, but the passengers caught on to their plan. Knowing about the other attacks, the passengers fought back towards the terrorists, crashing the plane into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The crash left no survivors. These Patriots gave up their lives for the United States of America, and they will be forever honored by our country.
Twenty years later, September 11 continues to be commemorated annually around the world. Pools of reflection were placed in the grounds where the towers once stood as a memorial site. Additionally, the Freedom Tower was built to remember the events of September 11, being the exact length and width as the Twin Towers had been. September 11 will always be a part of every American’s heart; we will never forget it.
