Twenty-five years ago, nearly 3,000 people lost their lives on a September morning that changed the United States forever. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. For many college students today, 9/11 is something they learned about in a classroom rather than something they remember experiencing.
That distance can make it easy to think of 9/11 as simply another event in history. But behind the numbers were parents, children, friends, co-workers, firefighters, police officers and ordinary people who never made it home.
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaida terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes. Two were deliberately flown into the World Trade Center towers in New York City. American Airlines flight 11 struck the North Tower at 8:46 a.m., followed by United Airlines Flight 175 striking the South Tower at 9:03 a.m. The impacts caused severe structural damage and started massive fires. The South Tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m., followed by the North Tower at 10:28 a.m.
As thousands of people attempted to escape the buildings, firefighters, police officers and other first responders ran towards the danger. They climbed hundreds of flights of stairs to rescue people who were trapped, knowing the buildings were severely damaged. Many of those first responders never made it back outside.
The attacks continue beyond NYC. At 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon in Virginia. A fourth hijacked plane, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew members fought back against the hijackers. Their heroic actions prevented the plane from reaching its intended target.
In total, 2,977 civilians were killed in the attacks, not including the 19 hijackers. The victims came from many backgrounds and more than 90 countries.
The effects of 9/11 extended far beyond that day. Less than a month later, on Oct. 7, 2001, the United States began military operations in Afghanistan after the Taliban refused to surrender Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders and stopped providing the organization with a safe haven. What began as a response to the attacks became the longest war in U.S. history.
The conflict continued through four presidential administrations: George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump’s first term and Joe Biden. In 2021, Biden ordered the withdrawal of the remaining U.S. forces. The final American troops left Afghanistan on Aug. 03, 2021, nearly 20 years after the attacks.
The legacy of 9/11 can also be seen in everyday life. Airport security became stricter, U.S. counterterrorism policies expanded, and American foreign policy changed dramatically. For older generations, these changed are part of memories they experienced firsthand. For younger generations, they are simply the world they grew up in.
Twenty-five years later, remembering 9/11 should be about more than replaying images of the attacks. It should mean remembering the people who were lost, the first responders who risked everything to help others and the consequences that followed.
For students who were not alive or were too young to remember that day, there is a responsibility to learn what happened and understand why it still matters. We may not have our own stories of Sept. 11, but we can still understand its significance.
“Never forget” should mean more than remembering a date. It should mean remembering the people, the sacrifices and the lessons that come from one of the darkest days in American history.
AJ Pearman can be reached at [email protected]