September 11, 2001, is a day that will live in infamy for generations of Americans. It is a moment in time seared into the collective memory of millions. It was the day America stood still…a moment so impactful and consequential that the international community held its collective breath as it witnessed America being attacked.
Americans around the nation and abroad watched their television screens as the economic epicenter of this nation was attacked. We watched with bated breath and horror as two hijacked commercial airliners collided with the World Trade Center. Only a couple of short hours later, those towers would come crashing down upon the streets and people of New York City. In their demise, only twisted heaps of metal and concrete remained where these once-great pillars of American industry and prosperity had stood.
The destruction of the World Trade Center destroyed a great symbol of American prosperity and strength. On this day, the world changed forever.
Even now, I remember that day with intense clarity. I remember vividly where I was when the world changed forever.
I was sixteen when the Towers fell. I remember that day with pristine clarity, as if it only happened yesterday.
My morning started like any other. My mom dropped me off at school, and I went to my first class, which was English that semester. I remember going to class as normal. Nothing was out of the ordinary.
It was when English was over and I was heading to my History class that I began to notice something different. As I walked the campus halls, I noticed students visibly upset and crying about something. I didn’t know what had happened to make everyone so emotional, but I would soon find out.
I remember seeing one of my friends in the hallway, and I asked, “What’s going on, bro? Why is everyone so upset?”
That is when he told me two jets had hit the World Trade Center.
I was initially skeptical of his assertion. He replied, “Nah, Drew, I’m serious. Two planes hit the Towers.”
As we walked to History, he updated me with what he knew from the news reports he had watched on television during his first-period class. The reality of the situation started to hit me. This had actually happened.
Then I remember walking into our History class and seeing video footage of the second plane hitting the Tower playing on the television.
I watched that footage in silent dread. I didn’t know how to process what was unfolding on my teacher’s television. At that moment, I felt truly empty. It was an emptiness I had never felt before or since.
As I continued to watch the news, I slowly moved to my desk and sat down, my focus squarely on the events unfolding before me. I don’t know when I began to cry, yet there I was, with a stream of tears running down my face.
That day struck a chord in my soul and stirred my spirit like never before.
I remember the images on my television screen of the brave men and women of the NYPD, NYFD, and EMS who risked their lives that day to save their fellow Americans. They ran into danger in the hope of saving even one life, knowingly and willingly sacrificing their own.
Compassion, courage, and sacrifice are among the truest strengths of the American people. These values were on full display on that fateful morning in September…not only by our brave first responders, but also by the countless men and women who answered the call of those in need.
The tears I cried initially weren’t tears of pain and sorrow. They were tears of anger and hatred.
I wanted everyone involved in the planning and coordination of these deadly attacks killed. I wanted them to know all the pain and sorrow of a nation. I wanted them to understand our wrath and the immense cruelty we could inflict. At that moment, only their deaths and destruction would satisfy my soul and appease my anger.
As I said before, those initial tears were born of anger and hatred. Then, those tears slowly morphed into tears for the thousands of Americans who were at the World Trade Center.
My heart went out to those Americans who witnessed the horror of those events unfold firsthand. To the people inside the World Trade Center calling their loved ones, telling their parents, wives, husbands, and children their last “I love you.”
Knowing and reluctantly accepting a horrible fate and reality: death had come.
Now, they waited for their demise. They began making peace with themselves and the Almighty. In what must have felt like a flicker of an eye, they experienced their entire lives from beginning to end.
They waited with no recourse and no way to preserve their lives. They had only the ability to wait fearfully for their impending deaths. That is an agonizing fate that no human should ever have to endure.
The flood of emotions experienced on that day was numerous and everlasting. Those events shook me to my core. They shook a nation to its core.
Even twenty-five years after that tragic and life-altering event, the memories remained fresh in my mind whenever I think back to that moment in time. Even now it feels like 9/11 only happened moments ago. Our emotions were still raw and gritty. My heart still aches with pain and burns with anger toward the terrorists who committed these atrocities.
When I look back on this day, it still brings me to tears. The emotions can overwhelm my spirit. These are moments are ingrained into my consciousness and psyche to never be forgotten.
On September 11, the world witnessed the strength and resolve of the American people. We were angry, dejected, and lost. Yet, in that same moment, our spirit of defiance, tenacity, and camaraderie stood tall.
As a nation, we mourned.
As a nation, we rebuilt.
As a nation, we continue to heal.
We would not let this moment define us or force us to cower in the corner. We stood defiant and strong. Our will to fight for our freedoms and liberties remained strong.
We would not be intimidated by those who sought to terrorize us through a dogmatic religious ideologies. In this country, that would not stand.
Freedom, liberty, and the rights of the individual would stand against the tyranny of evil men.
After twenty-five years, the events of September 11, the pain, and the trauma still run deep for countless Americans. It was the most extensive attack on American soil by a foreign adversary since Pearl Harbor.
For my generation, it is our Pearl Harbor.
It was a defining moment that set the nation on a path toward war against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. These moments in time defined a generation and changed America. This day forever altered the course of American history in significant ways.
On this day of remembrance, we should take a moment to remember the 2,977 lives lost on September 11, 2001. Lives were stolen from Americans who were simply living their daily lives.
These acts of terror stole the lives of sons, daughters, fathers, and mothers. They stole moments that would never be shared, hugs and kisses that would never be given, and the important moments in life that would never be experienced.
All of it was stolen by men who embraced a violent and dogmatic ideologies.
Today, we stand in remembrance of all those who were lost.
Stand tall. Remember them. Honor them.