On Tuesday, September 11th 2001 there was a series of four terrorist attacks on the United States in New York City. Two planes were hijacked by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda and crashed into the North and South towers located at the World Trade Center. The two towers both collapsed causing 2,977 victim fatalities and 25,000 injuries, causing 9/11 to be the single deadliest terrorist attack in human history today. There was a third plane that hit the Pentagon just outside Washington D.C. This terrorist attack took 3.1 million hours of labor to clean up the 1.8 million tons of debris left behind.
Not only was there numerous deaths that happened on 9/11, but many people lost their loved ones that day. It is extremely important to continue sharing personal and human stories of the attacks to keep those who were lost in this attack in our memory. I interviewed three people who all have very different memories about the 9/11 attack. My first interview was with my mother, Katie Downs. Katie had two young children at the age of 3 and 1 in 2001 and a husband who traveled very often. Her memory from 9/11 was sitting around the living room playing with her kids as she heard in the background the television switch to the news channel saying there was a plane crash. She automatically went into a panic because her husband, my father, was on a plane flying into Washington DC at the time. She became worried knowing now that two planes had crashed into the towers and it was a terrorist attack. I asked her what was going through her head and she responded with “fear.” This was such a fearful time for people around the world never realizing something this horrible could happen. This leads me into my second interview with my sister, Sophia Downs, who is 13 years old. Sophia wasn’t alive during the attacks on 9/11, so I asked her what she has heard about the attacks. She said she has learned about 9/11 in school and every year they do a dedication to the attacks and lives who were lost. Sophia said, “It’s really scary to think about someone wanting to hurt this many people.” Young kids who weren’t around for the attacks have an overwhelming feeling of how would people want to do something so significant to a country without guilt. My grandmother was my last interview and she was visiting a friend when the attacks happened. She said she can remember sitting around the television all day just watching updates about what was happening and crying at the TV. She said, “So many beautiful things were destroyed including lives of innocent people. It was one of the most sad and memorable days of my life.” As she was not home during the attacks, she had to get on a plane in a few days to fly home. She said numerous flights were canceled and people canceling their own flights because they didn’t want to get on an airplane after the attack. My grandmother was one of those people who needed some time before getting back onto an airplane, therefore she extended her trip until the air traffic was back on track and she felt at ease. Everyone has a different stories and memories when it comes to looking back on the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but they all lead back to one overall theme which is horrible. This was such a tragic event to happen in our life, but it is important to remain teaching the significance of how the Untied States became stronger as a nation.
September 11th, 2001 is a day American citizens will never forget. There are so many unsolved questions from the people that will never get an answer. My main takeaway from the 9/11 attack is disheartening. After learning and talking about this tragic event for practically my whole life, I still don’t understand why or how something this horrible could happen in our world. I believe it is important to continue teaching and informing young children about this event so the lives of those who were lost are never forgotten.
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