911 Twin Tower Memorial
On September 11, 2001, at 8:45 a.m.
on a clear Tuesday morning, an American Airlines Boeing 767 loaded with 20,000
gallons of jet fuel crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in
New York City. The impact left a gaping, burning hole near the 80th floor
of the 110-story skyscraper, instantly killing hundreds of people and trapping
hundreds more in higher floors. As the
evacuation of the tower and its twin got underway, television cameras
broadcasted live images of what initially appeared to be a freak accident.
Then, 18 minutes after the first plane hit, a second Boeing 767-United Airlines
Flight 175-appeared out of the sky, turned sharply toward the World Trade
Center and sliced into the south tower near the 60th floor. The
collision caused a massive explosion that showered burning debris over
surrounding buildings and streets below. America was under attack.
The attackers were Islamic terrorists from Saudi Arabia and
several other Arab nations. Reportedly financed by Saudi fugitive Osama bin
Laden’s al-Qaeda terrorist organization, they were allegedly acting in
retaliation for America’s support of Israel, its involvement in the Persian
Gulf War and its continued military presence in the Middle East. Some of the
terrorists had lived in the United States for more than a year and had taken
flying lessons at American commercial flight school. Others had slipped into
the country in the months before September 11 and acted as the “muscle” in the
operation.
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