Logan Domer
ltd001@marietta.edu
Photo was taken by Taylor Watts.
September 11 was one of those unfortunate times when a person can remember exactly where they were and what they were doing. Nineteen militants, a part of the Islamic extremist group, stole control of four airplanes and attempted to carry out malicious attacks on various targets in the United States. Two of these planes flew into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. The first plane collided on the north side of the North Tower as the second came shortly after crashing into the south side of the South Tower. As this was occurring, another plane was heading towards the Pentagon where it eventually met its target and started a violent fire. The fourth plane crashed before reaching its destination in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The passengers on the fourth plane were aware of the other three planes and they courageously resisted these hijackers and stopped them from reaching their designated destination. Later, they assumed that this plane was heading for the White House. The attacks mournfully ended with almost 3,000 deaths and forced the government to focus on combating terrorism.
The first plane to hit the World Trade center instantly killed hundreds of people trapped many more on the upper floors. The evacuation was beginning and these brave individuals tried to do everything they could to exit the building. The second plane following shortly behind did the same. The crashes caused many issues such as fires, debris flying everywhere, and much more. However, this did not stop those in the building from tenaciously doing everything they can to get out. Soon after, both towers completely collapse which causes many more issues on top of what is going on. As this was happening, a plane that crashed into the Pentagon killed 125 military personnel and civilians along with 64 others that were in the aircraft. The fourth plane was aware of the events occurring and decided to fearlessly fight back. There was a phone call recording that a person on the plane told his wife, “I know we are all going to die, There’s three of us that are going to do something about it”. Although they knew the outcome was not ideal, they overcame the terrorists and were able to stop it from potentially killing a lot more and doing further destruction. The amount of tenacity that this takes is unmatchable.
Although the Terrorists caused a lot of demolition on the surface of American they only made the foundation of the states stronger. As a result of these events, Americans put aside all differences and truly displayed strong patriotism. More than 1,500 of respondents reported to the sites following the horrific attacks. These brave individuals consisted of police officers, firefighters, doctors, nurses, and even any ordinary citizens. People stuck together and attempted to do everything they could to help the situation. This involved helping find the wounded and rescuing people that were stuck. America showed their support from everywhere, we were able to raise seven million dollars to those affected by 9/11. Money does not cure what has been lost but it displays the efforts and unity of America in times of discomfort. There are now two reflecting pools with water running down where the Twin Towers once stood. The pools are surrounded by panels that have the names of all 2,983 victims engraved into them. Along with this, they have rebuilt an astonishing building called “The Freedom Tower” that stands in the World Trade Center Site. This unfortunate situation was hard for all Americans but we showed great resilience as we came together and fought hard to overcome the damaging day.
Students at Marietta College would like to recognize those that lost their lives to this horrible event. We would also like to thank those brave individuals who risked their own lives to help in any way they could during the hard times. As shown on the right Marietta College has chosen to display numerous flags in the yard right in front of the library. A spot on campus that is one of the most commonly walked by.
For more information visit
https://www.history.com/topics/21st-century/9-11-attacks.
