The 20th Anniversary of 9/11

Significance of 20th Anniversary- Many people gathered at the 9/11 memorial on 9/11 in 2021 to honor the 20th anniversary of 9/11. The 9/11 memorial was finished in 2014, but to this day, many things are being added for detail purposes i.g. quotes, names, . Many first responders and survivors have left quotes to mention what they experienced during the fall of the twin towers, “The Attacks of September 11th were intended to break our spirit. Instead we have emerged stronger and more unified” – Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Metro.uk.co. There are many more quotes but that one stuck out the most to us since it expresses how almost everyone has stayed together throughout the rough patches of what we went through.

September 11th, 2001- 19 al Qaeda partisans hijacked four full-sized Boeing commercial aircrafts and crashed into both twin towers, the pentagon, and in a field in Pennsylvania in the attempt to destroy our beloved country. The 9/11 memorial & museum website includes that almost 3,000 lives were lost, including the firefighters and police officers who tried to save these innocent lives. 

What Exactly Happened? 

In consonance with History.com, the first plane crash was with a Boeing 767 (flight 11)  which crashed into the North tower in New York City at 8:46 am on the 80th floor. There were 11 crew members and 81 passengers on that flight (including hijackers). According to Metro.co.uk, “Something is wrong. We are in rapid descent. We are all over the place. I see water, I see buildings, we are flying low. We are flying very, very, low. We are flying too low. Oh my god we are flying way too low. Oh my god were-”, Flight attendant Madeline Sweeney, called her supervisor right before the crash. The collapse occurred 1 hour and 42 minutes after the plane crashed. This impact killed hundreds instantly, while entrapping hundreds more in both the floors above and below. 

At 9:03 am, flight 175 crashed into the south tower at the 60th floor, which sent the building plummeting 56 minutes later. There were 62 passengers and crew (including hijackers) on this flight, which made the whole country know that this wasn’t some accident…but a terrorist attack. 

Almost 3,000 people died, tens of thousands more innocent people were injured, and many people close or in the attack have gotten a chronic lung condition or cancer due to the smoke inhalation. According to Metro.co.uk, Firefighter Captain Patrick Brown states, “Numerous civilians in all stairwells, numerous burn victims coming down. We’re trying to send them down first… We’re still heading up.” 343 NYC fire department personnel were killed either from being burned alive, or struck by debris trying to save the lives of others. 

After the attack on the twin towers, the United States was in shock, and in fear. Just when they think it won’t get any worse, flight 77 circles down and crashes into the west side of the pentagon (aka U.S. Department of Defense) at approximately 9:45 am. The crash caused part of the concrete building to burn into rubble, destroying the military part of the pentagon. There were 180 people that died due to the crash, both on the plane and in the pentagon. 

How Has the Country Changed Since the Attack? 

2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and many things have changed since then, including the government. I asked one of my relatives (a pilot), “How do you think the country has changed since 9/11?” he responded with “The country has become more tyrannical in terms of our government. President Bush used it as an excuse to eviscerate the fourth amendment (the Patriot Act). He also used it as an excuse to engage in a 20 year war in the Middle East and Africa for the sake of toppling  governments and ushering in a one world order. 9/11 was the major event that the global elite used as the beachhead to launch the final attack on our Constitution and the Bill of Rights.” -Anonymous 

What We Did to Keep the Memories of Those We Lost A                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        live

Ever since the attack on our country, Americans have been facing some troubles with how to deal with the loss of their loved ones or friends. Many people came together to help build the memorial and museum. In this website, 911 Memorial.org, they talk about how we visit to see all the names of the ones that lost their lives during the attack and what was found in the debris of the towers collapsing. Looking at the Reflecting pools that consist of all the names of the people who had died during the attacks is a very emotional experience, now a lot of us may not even know who some of the people were but the ones that survived felt a connection to them. Going into the museum of 9/11 is a very cool experience,in a certain part of the museum they made it so the wall was actually concrete from the towers.