Did you experience 9/11?
For many people, they remember exactly what they were doing or where they were when news of the attacks broke out.
However with each year passing, 9/11 has become less of a ‘lived experience” and more of a “learned experience.” Meaning the new generation never experienced life before this daunting day.
Sept. 11, 2001 marks the day that 19 terrorists from the extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial planes and quickly turned the aircrafts into massive weapons, according to the 9/11 Museum’s website.
Nearly 3,000 lives were lost as a result of the terrorist attacks that changed our world forever. The exact number of deaths is 2, 977, according to the 9/11 Memorial’s website.
Death, destruction, anger, despair, healing, support and forgiveness are feelings that have wrapped themselves around Patriot Day. Fatalities happened across the nation with the attacks killing people in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. And the death toll has grown since the day of the attacks with many survivors eventually contracting lung-related illnesses, PTSD, depression, cancer and other long-term health issues that plagued them. Seemingly, the horrible day never slipped away into the night forever, but instead casted a somber shadow among many of the survivors.
On Sept. 11 at 9:30 a.m., George W. Bush was at Emma Booker Elementary School when he learned about the attacks.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is a difficult moment for America,” the former president said. “I, unfortunately, will be going back to Washington after my remarks.”
“Today we’ve had a national tragedy. Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country. I have spoken to the Vice President, to the Governor of New York, to the Director of the FBI, and have ordered that the full resources of the federal government go to help the victims and their families, and to conduct a full-scale investigation to hunt down and to find those folks who committed this act. Terrorism against our nation will not stand.”
9/11 is an annual day whose impact is continually felt. As the 21st anniversary comes around, here are some must-see programs that honor, educate and shine light to the implications of this day.
