Remembering 9/11

At 8:46 am on 9/11/2001, Mohamed Atta the other hijackers aboard American Airlines Flight 11 crashed the plane into floors 93-99 of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, killing everyone on board and hundreds inside the building.

At first it was assumed that the crash was a horrible accident. Then, at 9:03 am. hijackers crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into floors 75-85 of the WTC’s South Tower, killing everyone on board and hundreds inside the building. At this moment, we knew that this was no accident.

At 9:37 am, hijackers aboard American Airlines Flight 77 crashed the plane into the western facade of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., killing 59 aboard the plane and 125 military and civilian personnel inside the building.

At 9:59 am, the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed.

At 10:07 am, after passengers and crew members aboard the hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 learned about the attacks in New York and Washington, they mounted a heroic attempt to retake the plane. In response, hijackers deliberately crashed the plane into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, killing all 40 passengers and crew aboard. It was suspected that this plane was headed either to the Pentagon or the White House.

At 10:28 am, the World Trade Center’s North Tower collapsed.

I was in New York City that day, when the whole city went into mourning and all too many people were faced with the tragic and senseless loss of family, friends and acquaintances who were killed for no other reason than because they worked in those buildings. There were also too many heroes to count on that day, including NYPD, FDNY and the people on Flight 93 who forced the hijackers to bring the plane down in a field rather than into another building.

We will never forget.