“I’m not sure the rest of the country understands as much as people that were directly involved”. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican rival Donald Trump plan to attend the anniversary ceremony at the World Trade Center.
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Among those who died were 343 firefighters, 23 police officers and 37 officers with the Port Authority of NY and New Jersey.
To the survivors and families of victims, Obama said, “You remind us there’s nothing that Americans can’t overcome”.
Fifteen years later, we are more divided than ever. “Your steadfast love and faithfulness has been an inspiration to me and our entire country”. At that moment it became obvious that America was under attack.
The tales of loss are heartbreaking, while the tales of heroism, sacrifice and indefatigable American spirit are many.
Two other planes crashed – one into the Pentagon outside of Washington, D.C. and the other into a field in Pennsylvania.
The memorial for the attack against the Pentagon, where a single plane crashed against it, killing nearly two hundred persons, is less known and smaller than the main memorial at New York City – but remains a poignant reminder of what happened that day. In the ensuing fight, the plane plunged to Earth; and all were killed.
Here is looking back at some of those photographs on the 15th anniversary of the attacks on September 11, 2001. The complex of buildings include the 9/11 Memorial Museum that has attracted 5.4 million visitors since its opening in 2014.
He said xenophobia and the fear of terrorism also escalated after 9/11.
Boy Scouts from Troop 262 voted in August to visit the Flight 93 Memorial. The firefighters, law enforcement officers and emergency personnel who were called to the twin towers that day did not hesitate – not when they saw the first crash, not when they saw the second and not when they realized that not just the people who were in those towers were in danger. And with that, we interrupted the story we had been reading; director Rhonda Nourse pushed one button; and we had the live picture from New York City. “I always want to try to remember”.
We did not know about Flight 93 then.
“For them, it’s not a current event, it’s history”, said Mitchell High School teacher Doug Thomas, “so we have to teach it that way”.
The attacks that day changed America. At 7:28 a.m. PDT, the North Tower collapsed.
At the Pentagon in Washington, 184 people were killed when hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building. A moment of silence was heard around America at 8:46, the time when the first plane struck. Joe Quinn, whose brother Jimmy died in the North Tower, then addressed the crowd.
Their parents had never uttered the phrase “homeland security” before 9/11. The attacks claimed the lives of 2,996 people, including the 19 terrorists.
Crowds for the ceremony have diminished over the years.
“Parents of the deceased are getting older, younger people usually can’t make it because of work obligations”, said Tom Acquaviva of Wayne, N.J., whose 29-year-old son, Paul, a father of two, died on 9/11.
I think of 9/11 differently because of that journey five years ago, which I made along with my wife and daughter. “If you try to make any moves you’ll endanger yourself and the airplane”.
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Hook reported from Shanksville, Pa.; John Bacon from McLean, Va.
