The 9/11 Attack on America – We Will Not Forget

The 9/11 Attack on America – We Will Not Forget. . At 8:46 A.M. on the clear Tuesday morning of September 11th, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767, crashed into the World Trade Center North Tower in New York City. The impact instantly killed hundreds of people and trapped hundreds more in the higher floors. The crash also resulted in a gaping, burning hole between floors 93 and 99 of the 110-story skyscraper. 17 minutes later, a second Boeing 767 – United Airlines Flight 15 – appeared out of the sky, turned into the South Tower between the 7th and 85th floors. The collision caused a massive explosion which showered burning debris over surrounding buildings and the streets below. America was under attack. , As millions watched in horror the events unfolding in New York, American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 757, circled over downtown Washington before slamming into the west side of the Pentagon military headquarters at 9:37 A.M. Jet fuel from the Boeing 757 caused a devastating inferno that led to a structural collapse of a portion of the giant concrete building. All told, 125 military personnel and civilians were killed in the Pentagon along with 60 passengers and crew aboard the airliner., 22 minutes after the terrorists struck the nerve center of the US. Military, the horror in New York took a catastrophic turn for the worse when the World Trade Center South Tower collapsed in a massive cloud of dust and smoke. The structural steel of the skyscraper, built to withstand winds in excess of 200 mph and a large conventional fire, could not withstand the tremendous heat generated by the burning jet fuel. At 10:28 A.M., the World Trade Center North Tower collapsed. 2,312 people died in the World Trade Center and its vicinity. Most were in or around the buildings when they each collapsed. Others were passengers and crew of the two airliners. Included in the death toll were a staggering 343 Fire Department of New York fire fighters, 23 New York City police officers, and 3 Port Authority police officers who were struggling to complete an evacuation of the buildings to save people trapped on higher floors. In addition to the stunning loss of life, nearly 10,000 others were treated for injuries., Meanwhile, a fourth California-bound plane – United Flight 93 – was hijacked about 50 minutes after leaving Newark International Airport in New Jersey. Because the plane had been delayed in taking off, passengers on board learned of events in New York and Washington. Knowing that the aircraft was not returning to an airport as the hijackers claimed, a group of passengers and flight attendants planned an insurrection. One of the passengers, Thomas Burnett, Jr., told his wife over the phone that “I know we’re all going to die. There’s three of us who are going to do something about it. I love you, honey.” Another passenger – Todd Beamer – was heard saying “Are you guys ready? Let’s roll” over an open line. Sandy Bradshaw, a flight attendant, called her husband and explained that she had slipped into a galley ad was filling pitchers with boiling water. Her last words to him were “Everyone’s running to first class. I’ve got to go. Bye.” The passengers are suspected to have fought the four hijackers by way of an attack on the cockpit with a fire extinguisher. The plane then rolled over and sped toward the ground at upwards of 500 miles per hour, crashing in a rural field in western Pennsylvania at 10:03 A.M. All 45 people aboard were killed. The intended target of the terrorists failed attempt is not known., At 6:54 P.M., President George W. Bush, who had spent the day being shuttled around the country because of security concerns, returned to the White House. At 8:30 P.M., he delivered a televised address from the Oval Office, declaring “Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.” In a reference to the eventual U.S. military response, he declared: “We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.” , In the following days an investigation revealed that the attack had been executed by known terrorist organization al Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden At the time al Qaeda was provided sanctuary by Taliban forces in Afghanistan. On October 7th, 2001, a U.S.-led international effort was launched to destroy the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network based there. Bin Laden was killed during a raid of his compound in Pakistan by U.S. forces on May 2, 2011. ,