Honoring the Fallen
King Ho Yim/photos.com
Twelve years ago today, four airliners were hijacked by terrorists.
Two planes were flown into the World Trade Center towers. Another plane was flown into the Pentagon. One crashed into a Pennsylvania field instead of its intended target, after heroic efforts by passengers.
All told, almost 3,000 people died in the attacks. About 10,000 were treated for injuries. An astonishing 343 New York City firefighters were killed – the most firefighters killed in a single day in New York’s history.
The attacks caught most Americans off-guard. At first, most assumed the World Trade Center attack was a terrible accident. Until the second plane hit 18 minutes later.
Suddenly, America realized that it was a hated target and some would stop at nothing to destroy it. America would never be the same.
The attacks put America on guard. More thorough searches were required prior to air travel, and this continues to this day. Activities such as removing shoes and walking through body scanners were unthinkable before 9/11.
What’s more, the events of September 11, 2001 launched the war in Afghanistan in which 2,175 members of the U.S. military have been killed to date. And, the 9/11 attacks were at least partly to blame for the Iraq war which claimed the lives of 4,486 U.S. military personnel.
The events of 9/11/01 had a lasting effect that we as Americans will feel for generations to come.
Here’s to the thousands of civilians, firefighters, medics, and U.S. military personnel who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks and their aftermath.
