September 11 Attacks

over a billion dollars.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists, hijacked 4 commercial jetliners and turned them toward targets chosen for destruction. Two of the planes, loaded with fuel and passengers, were flown at full speed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in the financial district of New York City. The buildings burst into flame and then collapsed, killing thousands. A third terrorist crew crashed their plane into the Pentagon, headquarters of the U.S. military in Arlington, Virginia.

The hijackers of the fourth airliner apparently intended to hit another target in the Washington, DC area, but passengers on the plane realized what was happening and fought back. This airplane crashed in a field in rural Pennsylvania.

The 19 men who carried out the hijackings came from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other Arab states. They were affiliated with the al-Qaeda network, a radical Islamic group led by Saudi exile Osama bin Laden and dedicated to waging a holy war against the United States. The targets they chose to destroy perfectly symbolized U.S. financial, political, and military power.

Years in the making, the attacks in New York and Washington constituted the first major foreign assault on the continental United States since 1814, when the British army invaded Washington, DC, and burned the White House. More people were killed on U.S. soil on September 11, 2001 than on any day since the American Civil War. The attack killed nearly 3,000 people, and unified the American public as never before. Nations all across the globe sent their sincere condolences and vowed to stop the flow of terrorism.
on September 11, 2001 a plane was hijacked by a enemies from anther country and crashed the plane full of innocent passengers into the twin towers. taking hundreds of life from people on the plane, in the buildings, and on the ground

Names of the Terrorists from September 11

There were 19 highjackers. Of the 19 only 4 were trained pilots. Two others were selected for this training but never completed theirs.

* American Airlines Flight 11 - crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Terrorists - Satam al Suqami, Waleed al Shehri, Wail al Shehri, Abdulaziz al Omari, and Mohammed Atta.( Mohammed Atta is thought to be the leader of the hijackers)

* American Airlines Flight 77- crashed into the Pentagon.

Terrorists: Majed Moqed, Khalid al Mihdhar, Nawaf al Hazmi, and Hani Hanjour

* United Airlines Flight 175- crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

Terrorists:Mawan al Shehhi, Ahmed al Ghamdi, Fayez Banihammad, Hamza al Ghamdi, and Mohand al Shehri

* United Airlines Flight 93- crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania; it was meant for The White House.

Terrorists: Saeed al Ghamdi, Ahmed al Haznawi, Ahmed al Nami, and Ziad Jarrah

The world trade center symbolized the power of capitalism and the freedom it represents. Now days the ruins are used to symbolize New York's wounded pride and the sacrifice of those who died there. Anything beyond that is personal to the person referencing it.

I was in my classroom when it happened. It was my prep hour and a fellow teacher ran into my class asking if I had seen the TV. When I turned it on, the second tower had just been hit, and the anchorperson was asking, "What is happening? Is this some sort of accident?" I knew immediately and sickeningly that it was not. I knew that the US had just suffered a hugely devastating terrorist attack. There was no question in my mind. I knew too what it would mean.

I struggled for the rest of the day to keep my emotions hidden from my students. some of them had heard what was happening, and I tried to lead discussion so that I could protect them as much as possible. It was one of the most difficult things I have ever done. The emotions well up inside me now even as I'm writing this.

At the end of the day, a special staff meeting was called to strategize how we would handle it the next day. How would we help our kids get through any emotional trauma or negative emotions. I suggested keeping them busy. Get them talking. Give them a project to work on. Let them express what they felt. Our eighth grade team decided we would do just that and started building a model frame of the towers to let the kids write on cards how they felt and hang on the frame. Within a day it was full and the kids started covering the table top. By the end of the next week, the table was covered and so was most of the wall behind it.

In that meeting, I sobbed like a child. I have no embarrassment for my emotional reaction. I knew what was coming and said so. I knew it was the beginning of war and that thousand perhaps tens of thousands of our kids were going to die in it. I grieved for every student I had known who would sacrific himself or herself to go and serve only to be sent home in a box. I cried for the lost limbs and broken lives. And, I sobbed because I knew that most of those who went would not know the real reason for it all.

I'm no prophet. But I saw it. And I cried. I still do whenever I see the Towers in a photo or an old movie. I cry for the lives lost to us.

When were the Twin Towers built?

In reference to the Twin Towers of the Original World Trade Center in New York City (now destroyed): Separate sections of the Twin Towers opened individually between the years of 1970-1973. The ribbons were officially cut on April 4, 1973.