At one point, The World Trade Center towers, measuring at 110 stories side by side, were the tallest buildings. Within the walls, you’d find 104 floors. That’s 208 floors of occupancy btwn the two, located in the 3rd largest city in the world (at least that’s what I read)….
On September 11, 2001, a plane struck the northern tower between the “94th & 98th floors, causing massive structural damage and igniting some 3,000 of the 10,000 gallons of jet fuel the plane was carrying.” This was at 8:46am, some coffees still warm. Then a second plane hit the “84th floor to 78th floors of the South tower, at a faster speed,” at 9:03am. This is not a fiction story.
Our New York City heroes, fire & police departments and other emergency services, carried bravery while charging toward the scene as everyone else fled away from it. Because of them, 25,000 people were saved. Lives were traded.
You know this true story…
The South tower collapsed to the ground at 9:59am… only “56 minutes after the hijacked plane was steered directly into it.” 56 MINUTES. In LESS THAN 1 HOUR a building of 104 floors, filled with people, fell to the ground. Its neighboring tower collapsed LESS THAN A HALF HOUR later.
In 102 minutes the Manhattan skyline changed forever, as did the lives of those affected. Families will never be the same.
The attacks killed 2,606 people within the vicinity of the buildings. And another 265 lives ended the day they boarded those planes. This was an unthinkable tragedy. This is a story to never forget.
It took 8 MONTHS to clean up the site. People from all boroughs & nearby areas came together to lend hands, including my neighbors & my dad. The unity was something I remember so vividly; the synced unspoken obligations. The voices of the news anchors, the shock, the worry, panic, tears, and the heartbreak are all things I won’t forget marking the faces of New York. The sounds of the largest city in America mute. The bluest sky turn black. Fright. I could never forget.
Do you remember? This IS our history. This was terrorism. I was 11. I’m a New Yorker, & I was there. I remember 9/11/01 like yesterday. We stood together stronger than buildings.
Never Forget. So many emotions, including anger, 17 years later.
Kirsing 