Attack On the World Trade Centers
September 11, 2001, started out like any other Tuesday. It was 5:40 a.m. when a man with a small beard and mustache, carrying no bags, walked through the airport. He just kept his hands in his pockets as he walked through the metal detector. Elsewhere in northeastern United States alarm clocks were buzzing as people were just getting up to start their day. They were showering and eating breakfast. It was a beautiful day with no clouds in the sky. At the Logan Airport, just before eight o’clock, two Boeing 767 jets were taking off just like any other day, but it would soon be like no other day. (Gow Pages 5-10)
On that Tuesday morning, hundreds of thousands of men and women in and around New York City were commuting to work. More than 40,000 of them were going to their jobs at the World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan. By 8:45 a.m. many people that worked in the World Trade Center were already at work. They were either in their desks, cooking and serving food in restaurants or maintaining the buildings electrical and plumbing systems. All of a sudden a roar was heard throughout New York City. It was the sound of a jet engine at full throttle streaking right towards the North Tower. As the jet hit, flames and falling concrete shot out through the shattered glass. The concrete and falling metal fell to the sidewalks and streets below. The speeding jet struck the 110-story tower right around the hundred and second floor. (Gow pages 10-20)
As the people rushed to get out another plane was on its way to hit the other World Trade Center. At about 9:03 the second plane smashed into the second tower. When the plane hit, a huge ball of fire burst out. Everyone within a few blocks of the Trade Centers were also forced to evacuate their homes so that they could get away from danger. A little while after the second tower was hit President Bush made a short statement to America. “Ladies and Gentlemen” he said, “ This is a difficult moment for America.” He said, “Today we have had a National Tragedy, two airplanes have crashed into the world trade center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country.” After President Bush was finished he then got back into his personal jet and flew to Washington. (Gow Pages 21-35)
September 11 was ranked as the Second worst single-day death toll in American history only after the Civil War battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862. The third worst day was in 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor where about 2,300-2,400 people died. The people that died in New York were 343 Firefighters, 23 policemen, and 37 officers of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. There were also about 125 workers at the pentagon that died also. There were citizens from 62 different nations that perished in the attack. There were only five people rescued from the fallen World Trade Centers on Sept. 12, but no one was found after that. The debris from the towers covered about 16 acres and was estimated to have weighed about 1.2 million tons. They were guessing that the terrorists spent about $200,000-$500,000 on the attack of the Trade Centers. They think that the attacks will cost New York’s economy around $100 billion. (World Almanac and Book of Facts, pg. 29.)
The events that happened that day and the people that we lost will never be forgotten. September 11th was a horrible day, but it really put us all back to our senses. America before those events thought that America was untouchable and nothing could happen to us. That day we lost the World Trade Centers, and many people. The pentagon was also damaged. Our nation has really come together since then and is more patriotic then ever. We are now at war with Iraq, but before that we were at war with Afghanistan. They were the suspected attackers. We have changed a lot since then. Our nations security is higher then ever now, in airports and everywhere else. We will never forget what happened that day of September 11th, and the deaths will always be in our hearts.
