09/11/2026
On September 11th, 2001, 25 years ago today, our nation suffered the deadliest terror attack in our history. Four commercial passenger planes were highjacked and used as weapons against us.
This attack shook America to the core, it was surreal that this could happen, without warning, on our soil. Everyone alive at the time can remember that terrible moment when we realized we were under attack. Where we were, what we were doing, it all stopped. We watched as the horror unfolded, nothing could be done.
The first plane, Flight 11, hit the north tower at 8:46, it was thought to be a freak accident. The second plane, flight 175, hit the south tower at 9:03, at this time we all were starting to wonder what was going on! The third plane, Flight 77, crashed into the pentagon at 9:37, by now the nation is on high alert.
The fourth plane, flight 93, is different. The 40 passengers who, at this point, had heard what was going on, began a revolt. As a result the cockpit was taken over by the passengers, and subsequently the high-jackers and plane were crashed in Sumerset CO PA. Those 40 gave their lives to save whoever the target of that flight was. Probably the Capitol Building or the White House.
The horror of the day continued as people, trapped, jumped to their death from the twin towers, as rescue workers were unable to save many.
A total of 2,977 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks. Citizens of 78 countries died in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.
At the World Trade Center, 2,763 died after the two planes slammed into the twin towers. That figure includes 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority police officers, who were struggling to complete an evacuation of the buildings and save the office workers trapped on higher floors.
At the Pentagon, 189 people were killed, including the 64 on American Airlines Flight 77, the airliner that struck the building. On Flight 93, 40 people died when the plane crash-landed in Pennsylvania. Sacrificing their lives to save others.
It is estimated that 20% of the country is related to, or knows someone personally, who was hurt or killed that day.
Since that day, almost 10,000 additional people have died, and over 48,000 have been diagnosed with cancer from the effects of the attacks, as a direct result of exposure to the toxic dust and smoke, not to mention the death from su***de and the depression of family members and survivors.
Today is a dark day for us looking back, a dark day looking at the present situation, but we still have hope. Our nation pulled together 25 years ago to fight terror, we forgot our differences and political party lines, we pulled together for the sake of our country. We can still keep pulling together for the good of our nation and the safety of the world.
Never forget the sacrifice of those who were before us. Never hesitate to sacrifice for those who are ahead of us. History is a recurring theme that we can learn from, or repeat the mistakes made. As we look at the next 25 years, let us forge on and make the changes we never thought possible, become people we never thought we could be, and help those we never knew before.
