Editorial published September 11, 2025
For those of us who were around on September 11, 2001, the last two dozen years have gone by pretty quickly. But our memory of that day will stay with us forever.
On a crystal clear Tuesday morning, an American Airlines Boeing 767 loaded with 20,000 gallons of jet fuel crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City at 8:46 a.m.
The impact left a gaping, burning hole near the 80th floor of the 110-story skyscraper, instantly killing hundreds of people and trapping hundreds more in higher floors. The north tower collapsed at 10:28 a.m.
As the evacuation of the tower and its twin got underway, television cameras broadcasted live images of what initially appeared to be a freak accident. Then, 18 minutes after the first plane hit, a second Boeing 767—United Airlines Flight 175—appeared out of the sky, turned sharply toward the World Trade Center and sliced into the south tower near the 60th floor at 9:03 a.m.
The collision caused a massive explosion that showered burning debris over surrounding buildings and onto the streets below, causing it to collapse at 9:59 a.m. It immediately became clear that America was under attack.
On that day, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C. at 9:37 a.m., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania at 10:07 a.m. Almost 3,000 people were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which triggered major U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism and defined the presidency of George W. Bush.
Among the 2,996 people killed in the 9/11 attacks were the 19 terrorist hijackers aboard the four airplanes. Among the dead in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania were the citizens of 78 countries.
At the World Trade Center, 2,763 died after the two planes slammed into the Twin Towers. That figure includes 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers, and 37 Port Authority police officers, all of whom were struggling to complete an evacuation of the buildings and save the office workers trapped on higher floors.
At the Pentagon, 189 people were killed, including 64 on American Airlines Flight 77, the airliner that struck the building. On Flight 93, at total of 44 people died when the plane crash-landed in Pennsylvania after passengers rushed the hijackers. That plane was believed to have been destined for another landmark building in Washington, D.C.
Twenty-four years later our service men and women in the military and others are still fighting a seemingly endless war against terrorism. Those of us around on 9/11 know part of the reason why, and why we will never forget.
As former President George W. Bush has poignantly said: “Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, and we will remember the funerals of the children.”