By J1 Reporter Kate Egan

Sept.11, 2001 was an incredibly tragic day in America. The events of the day have affected nearly all Americans personally and professionally.

At 8:46 a.m American Airline flight 11 crashed into floors 93 through 99 of the North World Trade Center. All 11 crew members, 76 passengers, and hundreds inside of the building were killed instantly. At 9:03 a.m the South tower was hit by United Airlines flight 175 killing 55 passengers and 9 crew members on board. The impact rendered 2 out of the 3 emergency stairways and severed most of the elevator cables. This trapped many in the floors above and in the elevators. After the attack on the South tower, many people were seen falling to their deaths, an estimated number of people who died from falling ranges from 50 to 200.

At 9:05 a.m the United States president George W. Bush was reading to a 2nd grade class in Sarasota Florida when he was notified that the South tower had been hit. In a 1 minute address to Americans he said “ Terrorism against our country will not stand.” By 9:54 a.m a flight departed with no set destination, it landed at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana at 11:30 a.m . He later landed at Offutt Air Force base in Bellevue, Nebraska. In Nebraska there was a secure underground bunker where vice president Dick Cheney was waiting for Bush’s arrival.

At 9:37 a.m 5 hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon. 53 passengers, 6 crew members, 125 military and civilian personnel were killed. At 9:59 a.m the South tower collapsed, shortly after the Pentagon E Ring collapsed at 10:15 a.m and the North tower fell at 10:28 a.m. By 12:16 p.m lower Manhattan had been ordered to evacuate and all US airspace was closed. The 7 World Trade Center collapsed at 5:30 p.m after hours of burning, it had already been evacuated and there was no one in the building. https://timeline.911memorial.org/timeline/10681

On Sept. 11, 2011, Mr. Nick Harris was in his 1st grade classroom. He said doesn’t remember much but he remembers class stopping in the early morning and his teacher turning on the radio. He did not understand what was going on, and he only knew what the adults were telling him. After going home his mother was very serious about the situation. The TV was on and he saw people jumping out of the building, falling to their death instead of burning alive, this is when he understood how serious this was.

Harris says, “The following days were filled with immense patriotism and heightened community for most.” However, he also remarked that this sense of community wasn’t experienced by all as many Middle Eastern people living in America experienced a great deal of prejudice and discrimination in the aftermath of the tragedy. Harris’s older brother decided to become a Marine after 9/11 because of the patriotism he felt after seeing the effects of the day. As Harris grew up, he came to understand what really happened by watching documentaries and it’s given him more appreciation for what that day means to America. He says, “Despite the immense sorrow and tragedy caused by the day, if you watch documentaries there’s also innumerable stories of bravery and courage in the face of pure evil.

Thank you for sharing your memory of the day,
Mr. Harris!