• 8:46 a.m. the North Tower of the World Trade Center was hit by American Airlines Flight 11

• 9:03 a.m. the South Tower of the World trade center was hit by United Airlines Flight 175

• 9:37 a.m. the Pentagon was hit by American Airlines Flight 77

• 9:59 a.m. the South Tower collapses

• 10:03 a.m. United Airline Flight 93 crashed in a Pennsylvania field due to the passengers overpowering the terrorists

• 10:28 a.m. the North Tower collapses

    September 11, 2001 was a day of chaos. The American people did not see it coming. The attack happened on a beautiful Tuesday morning; there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. One hour and 42 minutes after the first plane hit, thousands of people are dead, and many more are injured. Manhattan was covered in ash and smoke, which made it difficult for survivors to see. People were crushed under the rubble of the towers. Among those were police and firefighters who ran into the burning buildings to save civilians. No words can describe the absolute terror and destruction of that day.

    Nineteen hijackers belonging to the terrorist group al-Qaeda were responsible for using the planes as weapons. The terrorist who orchestrated the attacks on September 11, 2001 was Osama bin Laden. He listed reasons such as America’s “immorality” and occupation on Muslim land as his reason for the attack. Osama bin Laden stated that Americans were oppressing Muslims, which was absolutely not true. Overall, bin Laden was never consistent in his reason for hating the United States. 

    Since this attack, there have been thousands more people killed by terrorists. That number includes the people who continue to die for illnesses such as cancer from toxic inhalation from the wreckage. There have been many people in the military and federal agencies who have sacrificed much of their life in order to track down these terrorists and, at times, these people gave their lives. American allies such as Great Britain supported the United States in our fight against terror and have been victims of that terror themselves. 

    I would like to personally thank every person who has fought against terrorism and kept our country safe. I also want to thank and recognize our allies for their support after this terrible event and the fight afterward. To anyone who is reading this, I would implore you  to never forget what happened on September 11, 2001, and the events that followed. The fight against terrorism is ongoing, and continues to claim casualties. Freedom comes at a cost that others pay to keep us safe; that is an universal truth. Remember how lucky we all are to be Americans and to have people willing to make that sacrifice. I would additionally like to send my deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones from the attack on our country. — Never Forget.