Never Forget

9/11

On September 11, 2001, 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., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. 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.

CONTENTS

World Trade Center

Osama bin Laden

Pentagon Attack

Twin Towers Collapse

Flight 93

How Many People Died in 9/11 Attacks?

America Responds

Sources

WORLD TRADE CENTER

On September 11, 2001, at 8:45 a.m. on a 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.

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.

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.

The collision caused a massive explosion that showered burning debris over surrounding buildings and onto the streets below. It immediately became clear that America was under attack.

DID YOU KNOW?

September 11, 2001, was the deadliest day in history for New York City firefighters: 343 were killed.

OSAMA BIN LADEN

The attackers were Islamic terrorists from Saudi Arabia and several other Arab nations. Reportedly financed by the al-Qaeda terrorist organization of Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden, they were allegedly acting in retaliation for America’s support of Israel, its involvement in the Persian Gulf War and its continued military presence in the Middle East.

Some of the terrorists had lived in the United States for more than a year and had taken flying lessons at American commercial flight schools. Others had slipped into the country in the months before September 11 and acted as the “muscle” in the operation.

The 19 terrorists easily smuggled box-cutters and knives through security at three East Coast airports and boarded four early-morning flights bound for California, chosen because the planes were loaded with fuel for the long transcontinental journey. Soon after takeoff, the terrorists commandeered the four planes and took the controls, transforming ordinary passenger jets into guided missiles.

PENTAGON ATTACK

As millions watched the events unfolding in New York, American Airlines Flight 77 circled over downtown Washington, D.C., before crashing into the west side of the Pentagon military headquarters at 9:45 a.m.

Jet fuel from the Boeing 757 caused a devastating inferno that led to the structural collapse of a portion of the giant concrete building, which is the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense.

All told, 125 military personnel and civilians were killed in the Pentagon, along with all 64 people aboard the airliner.

TWIN TOWERS COLLAPSE

Less than 15 minutes after the terrorists struck the nerve center of the U.S. military, the horror in New York took a catastrophic turn when the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed in a massive cloud of dust and smoke.

The structural steel of the skyscraper, built to withstand winds in excess of 200 miles per hour and a large conventional fire, could not withstand the tremendous heat generated by the burning jet fuel.

At 10:30 a.m., the north building of the twin towers collapsed. Only six people in the World Trade Center towers at the time of their collapse survived. Almost 10,000 others were treated for injuries, many severe.

FLIGHT 93

Meanwhile, a fourth California-bound plane—United Flight 93—was hijacked about 40 minutes after leaving Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Because the plane had been delayed in taking off, passengers on board learned of events in New York and Washington via cell phone and Airfone calls to the ground.

Knowing that the aircraft was not returning to an airport as the hijackers claimed, a group of passengers and flight attendants planned an insurrection.

One of the passengers, Thomas Burnett, Jr., told his wife over the phone that “I know we’re all going to die. There’s three of us who are going to do something about it. I love you, honey.” Another passenger—Todd Beamer—was heard saying “Are you guys ready? Let’s roll” over an open line.

Sandy Bradshaw, a flight attendant, called her husband and explained that she had slipped into a galley and was filling pitchers with boiling water. Her last words to him were “Everyone’s running to first class. I’ve got to go. Bye.”

The passengers fought the four hijackers and are suspected to have attacked the cockpit with a fire extinguisher. The plane then flipped over and sped toward the ground at upwards of 500 miles per hour, crashing in a rural field near Shanksville in western Pennsylvania at 10:10 a.m.

All 44 people aboard were killed. Its intended target is not known, but theories include the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland or one of several nuclear power plants along the eastern seaboard.

HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED IN 9/11 ATTACKS?

A total of 2,996 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks, including the 19 terrorist hijackers aboard the four airplanes.

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 who 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, 44 people died when the plane crash-landed in Pennsylvania.

AMERICA RESPONDS

At 7 p.m., President George W. Bush, who was in Florida at the time of the attacks and had spent the day being shuttled around the country because of security concerns, returned to the White House.

At 9 p.m., he delivered a televised address from the Oval Office, declaring, “Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.”

In a reference to the eventual U.S. military response he declared, “We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.”

Operation Enduring Freedom, the American-led international effort to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and destroy Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network based there, began on October 7. Within two months, U.S. forces had effectively removed the Taliban from operational power, but the war continued, as U.S. and coalition forces attempted to defeat a Taliban insurgency campaign based in neighboring Pakistan.

Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11th attacks, remained at large until May 2, 2011, when he was finally tracked down and killed by U.S. forces at a hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan. In June 2011, President Barack Obama announced the beginning of large-scale troop withdrawals from Afghanistan.

SOURCES

The Encyclopedia of 9/11. New York Magazine.

FAQ About 9/11. 9/11 Memorial.

September 11th Terror Attacks Fast Facts. CNN.

9/11 Death Statistics. StatisticBrain.com.

September Fun Facts

The 9th month of the year brings us Labor Day, and the start of the Fall season.

In the Georgian calendar, the calendar that most of the world uses, September is the ninth month of the year. However, it used to be the seventh month on the Roman calendar. It had 29 and 31 days but it later was changed to 30 days by Emperor Augustus. In Southern United States, it is the warmest months of the year and very cool nights for Northern states. It is the harvest time for crops and that is why Switzerland calls September the harvest month. In the Northern hemisphere, beginning of September leads to the beginning of meteorological autumn while it is the beginning of the meteorological spring in southern hemisphere.

Below are some fun facts about September:

1. The birthstone for September is the sapphire.
2. The zodiac signs for September are Virgo (August 23 – September 22) and Libra (September 23 – October 22)
3. The birth flower for September is the morning glory.
4. On September 1, 1905, Alberta and Saskatchewan were established.
5. On September 1, 1939, World War II began in Europe because the German troops invaded Poland.
6. On September 2, 1789, the United States Department of Treasury was established.
7. On September 3, 1783, the Revolutionary War in America ended after Great Britain signed the Treaty of Paris.
8. On September 6, 1901, William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States, was assassinated.
9. On September 8, 1565, the first permanent white settlement was founded in St.Augustine, Florida.
10. On September 10, 1846, Elias Howe patented his sewing machine.
11. On September 14, 1847, United States forces took control of Mexico City.
12. On September 14, 1940, the Selective Service Act was passed by Congress which provided the first peacetime draft in the United States history.
13. National Chicken Month
14. National Rice Month
15. National Potato Month
16. National All-American Breakfast Month
17. Labor Day – first Monday of September
18. September 8 – Pardon Day
19. September 13 – Uncle Sam Day (his image was first used in 1813)
20. September 16 – Mexican Independence Day

Today is NATIONAL TEDDY BEAR DAY

September 9 celebrates National Teddy Bear Day.  We have all had a special cuddly teddy as a child.  Some of us still have our teddy bear from our childhood.  Whether or n

In November 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt and some of his friends went on a hunting trip to Mississippi. After hours of searching, Roosevelt and his group had not come across any wild animals. Finally, the group did track down and surrounded a helpless bear. One of the guides asked the president to shoot the bear so he could win a hunting trophy. The president refused, and news reporters throughout the country spread the story of Roosevelt’s kind act.

Not long after this took place, a famous cartoonist named Clifford Berryman drew a cartoon based on Roosevelt ‘s rescue of the bear. When a store owner in Brooklyn saw the cartoon, he decided to make toy bears to sell in his shop. He asked president Roosevelt for permission to use the name “”Teddy’s Bear”” for his toys, as a reminder of the bear Roosevelt had set free. Nowadays, everyone knows these toys as Teddy Bears, but few people know that they were named after President Theodore “”Teddy”” Roosevelt.

If you still have your childhood teddy, today is the perfect day to celebrate your childhood friend!

 

CELEBRATE

Remember your teddy bear and use #NationalTeddyBearDay to post on social media.

Fun Facts about the Month of September

The 9th month of the year is an outstanding one

In the Georgian calendar, the calendar that most of the world uses, September is the ninth month of the year. However, it used to be the seventh month on the Roman calendar. It had 29 and 31 days but it later was changed to 30 days by Emperor Augustus. In Southern United States, it is the warmest months of the year and very cool nights for Northern states. It is the harvest time for crops and that is why Switzerland calls September the harvest month. In the Northern hemisphere, beginning of September leads to the beginning of meteorological autumn while it is the beginning of the meteorological spring in southern hemisphere.

Below are some fun facts about September:

1. The birthstone for September is the sapphire.

2. The zodiac signs for September are Virgo (August 23 – September 22) and Libra (September 23 – October 22)

3. The birth flower for September is the morning glory.

4. On September 1, 1905, Alberta and Saskatchewan were established.

5. On September 1, 1939, World War II began in Europe because the German troops invaded Poland.

6. On September 2, 1789, the United States Department of Treasury was established.

7. On September 3, 1783, the Revolutionary War in America ended after Great Britain signed the Treaty of Paris.

8. On September 6, 1901, William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States, was assassinated.

9. On September 8, 1565, the first permanent white settlement was founded in St.Augustine, Florida.

10. On September 10, 1846, Elias Howe patented his sewing machine.

11. On September 14, 1847, United States forces took control of Mexico City.

12. On September 14, 1940, the Selective Service Act was passed by Congress which provided the first peacetime draft in the United States history.

13. National Chicken Month

14. National Rice Month

15. National Potato Month

16. National All-American Breakfast Month

17. Labor Day – first Monday of September

18. September 8 – Pardon Day

19. September 13 – Uncle Sam Day (his image was first used in 1813)

20. September 16 – Mexican Independence Day