09/11/2023
On September 11th, 2001, our country experienced a terrible terrorist attack that not only changed the United States, but changed the world.
On the morning of September 11, United Airlines Flight 175 and American Airlines Flight 11 departed from Boston before hijackers crashed them into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon, while passengers attempted to overtake United Airlines Flight 93 from hijackers before it crash-landed in Pennsylvania. USA Today states “The 9/11 attacks left 2,977 dead across New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania, according to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. That total includes the 2,753 who died after the planes struck the Twin Towers, 184 people at the Pentagon and 40 people who died when Flight 93 crash-landed in Pennsylvania.”
USA Today also reports “Three hundred and forty-three firefighters died on 9/11, which at the time was nearly half the number of on-duty deaths in the New York City Fire Department’s entire 100-year history. In 2019, it was reported that the 200th New York City firefighter had died of Ground Zero-related illnesses, including the effects of toxic contaminants, traumatic injuries, and physical and emotional stress. Last year, the FDNY reported that number was closer to 300. According to the World Trade Center Health Program, over 71,000 individuals have been diagnosed with physical and mental health conditions brought on by exposure to the dust, smoke, debris, and trauma of the 9/11 attacks.”
Today, in the United States, 9/11 is known as Patriots Day in memory of those who lost their lives. So now, 22 years later, we honor those by spending the day in reflection. We spend this day sending endless gratitude to the first responders, while thinking of those who lost their lives, as well as those who were forever changed by the events of that day.
