On September 11, 2001, tragedy struck the country of America. Throughout the years it has become revealed that the younger generations do not know quite enough about the events that took place on this fateful day, including me.
I did not fully understand the significance of 9/11 until I visited its memorial in New York. I came to understand that though the events happened before many young people were even born, 9/11 is an important part of our history and knowledge that all our youth should know. The facts are important, and the lives lost that day are important to recognize.
A lot of youth know that many attacks at the time (including 9/11) were orchestrated by the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden saw America as enemy number one, and had his sights set on causing as much damage and harm to the country as possible. Throughout the next decade, young people of today grew up hearing Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden in and out of the news until Bin Laden’s downfall in 2011.
What most of us probably did not know was that 9/11 was not the first time the World Trade Center had been attacked.
In 1993 a bombing with links to a radical mosque and possible broader connections to Al-Qaeda killed six people and injured over 1,000. A 1,200 pound bomb was snuck into the parking garage and detonated. The plan was that it would ruin the foundation and topple one of the buildings into the second one. Luckily, they were not able to get to the target area due to the overcrowded parking garage. If they had, it would have brought the towers down faster than the 9/11 attack, causing a lot more casualties.
The 9/11 museum and memorial indicated that after this attack, about 50,000 people evacuated from the World Trade Center complex. But the survival of the towers was a demonstration of resiliency. Intrigued by this new piece to the story in my head, I went on exploring the 9/11 memorial.
Then came the day of September 11, 2001. This was a story I thought I knew.
It started off as a normal day, but would soon turn to chaos for everyone involved. I suggest taking a look at the official timeline of events that happened that day, since I will be touching on only a few of the many events that took place:
- Four planes, 19 hijackers, and not one aware passenger take off on flights 11, 175, 77 and 93 that morning.
- Flight 11 hits the first building, floors 93-99, at 8:46 a.m., killing the 92 passengers aboard and hundreds more on impact. Then at 9:03 a.m. Flight 175 crashes into floors 75-78 of the second building killing the 65 aboard and again, hundreds more at impact.
- At just 9:37 a.m. Flight 77 crashes into the western facade of the Pentagon, killing the 59 passengers and 125 military and civilian personnel.
- And shortly after that at 10:07 a.m., after catching wind of the other hijackings, the passengers of Flight 93 know that they are next. They bravely contact their loved ones to say one last goodbye and sacrifice their lives trying to take the plane back over. The plane crashes in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, killing all 40 passengers and crew on board.
- As chaos ensues in New York, evacuation is taking place, phone calls are being made, and people around the world are watching horrified as these events unfold.
- At 9:59 a.m. the south tower collapses, and at 10:28 a.m. the north tower collapses.
The 9/11 attack is recorded as the largest loss of life in a foreign attack on American soil, the country having lost about 2,977 lives. After the attack President Bush gave a speech and was famously quoted, “I can hear you, the rest of the world can hear you and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.” And he was correct. It was a decade later that the U.S. special operations forces found and killed Osama bin Laden at his compound on May 2, 2011.
Emerging from the story, I found myself standing at the foot of where the towers should have been in New York.
Where the two towers used to stand, there is now a memorial and a museum. It is a beautiful and sacred place dedicated to those who lost their lives, as well as those who sacrificed their lives. We want to thank those who fight for our country day in and day out, and take a moment to thank those who have sacrificed themselves and time on this planet to save those in need. We are indebted to the lives lost.
If you ever get a chance I highly recommend going to visit the 9/11 memorial, which you can read more about here. You can feel the power it holds, showing that 9/11 is not just another day, it is a day we must remember.
– by McKynlee Cottam
Feature image caption: 9/11 is an important part of our history and knowledge that all our youth should know. The 9/11 memorial reminds us of the power and importance of remembering this day. Courtesy NormanB/Wikimedia Commons.
McKynlee Cottam – Escalante
McKynlee Cottam is a junior writer, and sometimes editor, at The Byway. She is a senior at Escalante High School. This year she’s had the opportunity to be the school’s Student Body President and Miss Garfield’s Outstanding Teen. McKynlee loves to write about things that are going on in our county and world, as well as some fun out-of-hat pieces. She enjoys playing the violin, participating in basketball, and of course hanging out with her friends. The Byway has been a fun part of her life, and she hopes to keep contributing to it for some time!