It's been been twelve years since this image was shot. For some of us that wasn't too long ago, for some of us, we were barely old enough to remember. There is no questioning that the attacks of September 11th, 2001 were the most emotionally scarring moments for the United States of America in recent years. Since then, many nations have taken up arms, lives have been given, and wars have been fought. May we remember the sacrifice of those who worked to save lives on that day, and ever since.
So what exactly happened? At 0845 EST, Tuesday September 11th, 2011, hijackers from Al Qaeda crashed a Boeing 767 aircraft into the north World Trade Center tower. This plane had twenty-thousand gallons of fuel on board, and left a large burning hole around the 80th floor. Eighteen minutes later, a second Boeing 767 was crashed into the south building around the 60th floor. This resulted in an explosion that showered the surrounding area in debris and caused the building to collapse due to damage to its internal structure. The northern tower collapsed soon after. At 0945, a Boeing 757 crashed into the side of the Pentagon, starting a fire that caused a section of the building to collapse. One final flight was hijacked, United Flight 93, but passengers attempted to recapture the plane. During the flight, the plane flipped over and crashed into the field it was flying over.
In total, almost three thousand people died directly from the attacks, by impact, fire, smoke inhalation, or for those who did not suffer from the fates above, jumping. Among the dead were office workers in the trade center, passengers, attendants and pilots on the planes, and rescue workers. Thousands more perished from injuries received during the attacks in the coming weeks, and many more lived on with injury. A number of the remains to this day remain unidentified.
Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attacks, and while most people associate them with Osama bin Laden, the primary planner of the attacks was Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Khalid was arrested in Pakistan in 2003, and later confessed to his responsibility for planning the attacks. Osama bin Laden was found in 2011, and killed by American special forces in his compound in Pakistan. The hijackers on the flights numbered nineteen, financed and motivated by Al Qaeda.
Those responsible have been hunted down and imprisoned or put to death, and while there are many others out in the world with malign intent against the innocent and weak, to discuss them is not the purpose of this post. Today is the day to remember those innocents who died. If you know someone who suffered in the attacks, today is the day to take a moment of silence to remember, or pray for them. If someone you know lost someone in the attacks, today is the day to call, and remind him that he is in your thoughts. This is the day to remember those firefighters, the EMTs, the police, the Coast Guard, and helpful citizens who risked their own lives to save their fellow man. It is about those brave souls who continued to dig through the burnt and bloody steel in hopes of finding just one more survivor. Find a way to remember, for their sake.
I still remember where I was on that day. I was in elementary school, and after I got home that day, my parents put me in front of the television. That never happened, and my parents had never cried in front of me before either. I couldn't be sure exactly what happened, but I knew it wasn't right. A few years later, I got the chance to visit New York City, and walk by Ground Zero. There was still some scrap steel laying around, a barren and empty wasteland in the middle of the vibrant city. Three years ago, I got a chance to help with a Field of Flags event. We planted a flag in that ground for every American killed in the attacks. Looking back on that grass covered in red, white, and blue, I got my first look at what nearly three thousand dead looked like. It was that day I decided I really wanted to wear the uniform of the United States of America. I hope all of you have a story like mine, and I hope that it doesn't hurt too much.
This is my way of remembering that day.
Simper Filly, and God bless.
