Remembering 9/11

Every September, you likely hear adults talk about it: 9/11. Still, if you’re like many young people, you probably have just a hazy understanding of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, the deadliest in our history. For most Americans in their late 20s and older, however, memories of September 11, 2001, remain remarkably clear.

This September 11 marks the 20th anniversary of that day. On that fateful morning, the U.S. experienced a series of events so unexpected, so shocking, they changed the nation—and the world—forever.

September 11, 2001, started as a routine Tuesday morning for millions of Americans. But at 8:46 a.m., a low-flying jet with more than 90 people aboard crashed into one of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, a huge office complex in New York City.

On a typical day, some 50,000 workers filled its offices, and 200,000 visitors from all over the globe flocked to its shops, restaurants, and sky-high observation deck. At 110 stories each, its matching silver skyscrapers were a famous symbol of the nation’s power and prosperity.

When the plane hit the North Tower, it initially appeared to be a tragic accident. But then, as people began to evacuate the towers and surrounding office buildings—and as firefighters, EMTs, and police officers rushed to the scene—a second plane roared overhead and crashed into the South Tower.

With that, it became clear that the acts had been deliberate—the U.S. was under attack. The world would soon learn that terrorists had hijacked the planes and turned them into weapons. Half an hour later, a third plane struck the Pentagon (headquarters of the U.S. military) in Arlington, Virginia, just outside the nation’s capital. Then a fourth plane—which may have been headed for the U.S. Capitol or the White House in Washington, D.C.—crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. (Passengers, realizing what was happening, had bravely battled the hijackers and kept the plane from reaching its target.)

Back at Ground Zero—as the World Trade Center site in Manhattan soon would become known—first one tower and then the other collapsed. The eruptions of smoke, soot, and debris caused the already panicked crowds in nearby streets to run for their lives.

A terrorist group called Al Qaeda, led by a man named Osama bin Laden, soon claimed responsibility for the attacks (see “What You Need to Know,” below).

Nearly 3,000 people died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But thousands of others survived, and their stories of the event are a powerful reminder that big historic events are made up of countless individual experiences.

One of the people who escaped from Ground Zero that day was Richard Viglione Jr. At the time, he was 26 years old and worked at an investment bank in a building across the street from the Twin Towers.

When we got outside, it was probably 9:01 or 9:02. You look up and you see a big hole in the North Tower, about 90 floors up. And you’re like, “How does a plane go into a building? That’s gotta be a really, really bad mistake.” All of a sudden we hear a plane, and it sounded like it was only 200 feet off the ground—right over our heads—and it went right into the other tower! It was so loud. You know when it’s so loud you can’t even look up and you go like this? [He looks down and covers his ears, scrunching his face.]

We all ran! As soon as it hit! Because there was a big fireball coming out of the side of the building and pieces of the plane fell within 100, 200 feet of us. It was chaos. Everybody went in different directions because you just wanted to get away.

Then we knew something was wrong. Two planes don’t go into a building by mistake. But at the time, we couldn’t figure out who was attacking us.

Tens of thousands of stories similar to Viglione’s unfolded in New York City that day. But not all of them had as fortunate an ending. In the coming days, people around the globe held candlelight vigils in memory of the nearly 3,000 people who died in the attacks. News reports included tales of heroism—of firefighters who had charged into the burning towers to try to save people and of office workers who had carried injured colleagues down smoke-filled stairwells.

As the country was reeling, President George W. Bush mobilized the U.S. military. Within a month, U.S. forces began bombing and raiding Afghanistan, where bin Laden and other Al Qaeda members were believed to be hiding. This was the beginning of the war in Afghanistan, the longest-running conflict in U.S. history (see “Key Moments,” below).

New federal, state, and local laws were quickly passed to protect against future terrorist attacks. Many are now familiar parts of our lives, such as having security officers check every bag before letting us get on a plane or enter an arena.

But in many ways, the events of 9/11 also brought Americans together. Countless volunteers joined search-and-rescue efforts, helped first responders, and provided aid and comfort to people who had survived the attacks or lost loved ones. As the nation united in the wake of the tragedy, many lives were profoundly changed—including Viglione’s.

In 2000, he told Christian, he’d turned down a chance to join the New York Fire Department because he liked his bank job. “They called again in 2003,” he said. “After what I saw on 9/11—police and firemen risking their lives to save people—I wanted to make a better life with more meaning to it. So I decided to take the test for the Fire Academy.”