On September 11, [The United States] suffered the largest loss of life2,973on its soil as a result of a hostile attack in its history. The FDNY suffered 343 fatalitiesthe largest loss of life of any emergency agency in history. The PAPD suffered 37 fatalitiesthe largest loss of life of any police force in history. The NYPD suffered 23 fatalitiesthe second largest loss of life of any police force in history, exceeded only by the number of PAPD officers lost on the same day.
[ ] Between 16,400 and 18,800 civilians were in the WTC complex as of 8:46 a.m. on September 11. At most, 2,152 individuals died at the WTC complex who were not (1) fire or police first responders, (2) security or fire safety personnel of the WTC individual companies, (3) volunteer civilians who ran to the WTC after the planes impact to help others, or (4) on the two planes that crashed into the Twin Towers.
On September 11, 2001, four planes were hijacked by 19 men in an act of complete disregard for human life. At 8:46 a.m. EST, American Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. Approximately 17 minutes later, at 9:03 a.m. United Flight 175 struck the South Tower of the WTC. American Flight 77 struck the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. United Flight 93 crashed down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania at sometime after 10:02 a.m. EST, after the brave passengers onboard attempted to fight back and regain control of the plane from the hijackers. At 9:58:59, the South Tower of the WTC collapsed, followed by the collapse of the North Tower at 10:28 a.m.
-> September 11, 2001
Never Forget. <-
Information taken from
http://www.9-11commission.gov/
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September 11th, 2001, is indeed a touchy subject for many, but it is surely something that should not be forgotten. It was a day that completely changed the world we live in
everything we know changed so dramatically because of the wicked events on that day, and many of us do not even notice it at times. It affected all of us, whether we live in the United States, throughout Europe, Asia, or elsewhere. As a French newspaper put it in their headline on the dark day, "Nous sommes tous Américains."
According to Wikipedia, the following nations lost at least one citizen in the attacks, the United Kingdom suffering the most casualties (67). In total, 316 non-American citizens perished from: Australia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, the Congo, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, France, Germany, Ghana, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines, Portugal, Poland, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela.
There have been thousands of speeches and memorials given since that day, but one that I find to be most true was given by comedian talk show host Jon Stewart in the first post-9/11 episode of The Daily Show, which is based in New York City. Here is just an excerpt that I believe shows what that day was truly about... It's a message that, within just a few years, we have already seemingly forgotten, in my humble opinion...
"The reason I dont despair is because this attack happened. Its not a dream. But the aftermath of it, the recovery is a dream realized. And that is Martin Luther King's dream. Whatever barriers we've put up are gone even if it's momentary. We're judging people by not the color of their skin but the content of their character. You know, all this talk about "These guys are criminal masterminds. Theyve gotten together and their extraordinary guile and their wit and their skill." It's a lie. Any fool can blow something up. Any fool can destroy. But to see these guys, these firefighters, these policemen and people from all over the country, literally, with buckets rebuilding. That's extraordinary. That's why we've already won. It's light. It's democracy. We've already won. They can't shut that down. They live in chaos and chaos it can't sustain itself. It never could. It's too easy and it's too unsatisfying.
The view from my apartment was the World Trade Center and now it's gone. They attacked it. This symbol of American ingenuity and strength and labor and imagination and commerce and it is gone. But you know what the view is now? The Statue of Liberty. The view from the south of Manhattan is now the Statue of Liberty. You can't beat that."
/me nods...
Amen, dude. regardless of my own opinions or those of anyone else about the why/how/whats of the situation, NOTHING can detract from the people who gave their lives, either as innocent bystanders, workers or people just trying to do the right thing. Here's to them all.
Never forget...