Remember September 11th

Posted on 04. Sep, 2012 by Jessica in Events

REMEMBRANCE.

September 11, 2012 will mark the 11th anniversary of the mayhem that ensued that Tuesday morning in 2001. Four planes hijacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists crashed throughout the east coast; two planes into the World Trade Center buildings in New York City (American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175), one plane into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia (American Airlines Flight 77) and one in Shanksville, Pennsylvania (United Airlines Flight 93).

REMEMBRANCE. It is important to remember those that lost their life that day. Almost 3,000 people died which included those innocently on the planes as well as civilians and the hijackers. They were travelers on a flight from Boston, Washington and New Jersey en route to the west coast. They were flight attendants serving drinks to their passengers. They were executives and mail room workers in the World Trade Center buildings. They were military staff and visitors at the Pentagon. They were FDNY and NYPD members risking their lives to save others.

REMEMBRANCE. I remember I was a senior at Penn State University and had just woken up in my apartment to hear my roommates talking about a plane crashing into a building in New York City. I really had to think twice; 1) my roommates did get over dramatic at times and 2) was I still dreaming or could something like this actually happen? I did get up to find that our TV was on just to see the second plane fly into the North Tower of the World Trade Center buildings. My over dramatic roommate certainly was not overreacting. Her sister worked in the city so immediately she was on the phone to find out if she was safe.

Within the days that followed, you couldn’t walk around campus without hearing someone talking about where they were that morning of September 11. I heard stories of classes being left out early, people gathering around televisions in dorms and the student commons as well as anywhere downtown that was broadcasting the news.

REMEMBRANCE. How can you remember? Talk to someone about where you were that day. Reach out to an organization that helps support the reconstruction and recovery of the buildings and facilities around those crash sites. Visit one of the memorials. Read about what happened and how life has changed since September 11, 2001.

Bernstein, Richard. Out of the Blue: The Story of the September 11, 2001

From Jihad to Ground Zero. New York: Times Books. 2002, Print.

September 11 Attacks. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2001. Web. 28 Aug

2011.