The National Day of Service and Remembrance recognized on September 11th honors the memory of nearly 3,000 innocent victims who died in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

On Tuesday September 11, 2001 – nineteen suicide attackers seized US passenger jets and crashed them into numerous locations while killing thousands of people. The attack remains one of the most traumatic events of the century, not only for Americans but also for the entire world.

An Islamist extremist network called al-Qaeda planned the attacks from Afghanistan. 19 Hijackers seized four US planes and purposefully crashed them into landmark buildings in New York and Washington. Two planes struck the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York. The first hit the North Tower at 8:46 am Eastern Time. The second crashed into the South Tower at 9:03 am. Thousands of people were trapped on the upper floors as the city went up in smoke. In less than two hours, both 110-storey towers collapsed in massive clouds of dust. At 9:37 am the third plane destroyed the western face of the Pentagon – the giant headquarters of the US military just outside the nation’s capital, Washington DC. The fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania at 10:03 am after passengers fought back.

It is thought the hijackers had meant to attack the Capitol Building in Washington DC.

Citizens of 77 different countries were among the casualties. New York City lost 441 first responders. Thousands of people were injured or later developed illnesses connected to the attacks, including firefighters who had worked in toxic debris.

In all, 2,977 people (not counting the 19 hijackers) lost their lives, most of them in New York.

• All 246 passengers and crew aboard the four planes were killed
• At the Twin Towers, 2,606 people died – then or later of injuries
• At the Pentagon, 125 people were killed

Less than a month after the attacks, President George W. Bush led an invasion of Afghanistan – supported by an international coalition – to eradicate al-Qaeda and hunt down Bin Laden. However, it was not until 2011 that US troops finally located and killed Bin Laden in neighboring Pakistan. The alleged planner of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, was arrested in Pakistan in 2003. Al-Qaeda still exists. It is strongest in Sub-Saharan Africa but even now has members inside Afghanistan.

Flight safety was tightened around the world in the years following 9/11. In the US, the Transportation Security Administration was created to beef up security at airports and on planes.

It took more than eight months to clean up “Ground Zero” – the site of the fallen Twin Towers. A memorial and a museum now stands on the site, and buildings have risen up again, to a different design. The completed centerpiece – One World Trade Center, or “Freedom Tower” – stands even higher (1,776ft (541m) than the original North Tower, which was 1,368ft. Reconstruction at the Pentagon took just under a year, with staff back in their offices by August 2002.

Take a moment of silence to say a pray for all of those who were involved. Family – Friends & Loved Ones

We Will Never Forget