A plane approaches New York’s World Trade Center moments before it struck the tower at left, as seen from downtown Brooklyn, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001.
William Kratzke
AP
America was on its way to work on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001 when incomprehensible news came out of the morning’s clear blue sky: A plane had crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York, exploding on impact and setting the structure on fire.
People scrambled toward TVs for information -- for explanations -- when, before their eyes, the most horrific next thing happened, a second 767 hit the South Tower.
Within the hour, a third plane had plowed into the side of the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and a fourth had slammed nose-first into a field north of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, its passengers and crew having fought the hijackers and prevented a likely strike on the U.S. Capitol or the White House.
The coordinated attacks by 19 suicidal al-Qaeda terrorists killed more than 2,997 people and injured 6,000 more. It rocked the nation and the world and launched a global war on Islamist extremism in Afghanistan and Iraq in which the United States is still involved.
Images of the day, like those shared here, were painful and searing, juxtaposing the familiar with the unreal. The Pentagon, recognizable to every 5th-grade social studies student who has taken a field trip to the nation’s capital, was caved in on one side. The iconic Twin Towers, 110-story monuments to American capitalism and New York resiliency, lay in a smoldering heap of ash and twisted metal. The cockpit voice recorder, or “black box,” of the plane that went down in Pennsylvania was buried 25 feet below ground.
The worst terrorist attack ever to happen on American soil did what great tragedies do in this country, sparking a sense of solidarity and bringing out our best. Volunteers drove to Ground Zero with shovels and buckets. People celebrated the heroism of the passengers and crew of Flight 93 who fought back. They contributed money to memorialize the dead and help support the survivors. They developed a new appreciation for first responders, whom they began to randomly thank when they saw them on the street.
On this, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, somber ceremonies across the country will recall the loss of life on that September day, not just in the cities where they happened but in towns where the only connection to the tragedy was the only one that matters: It happened to all of us.
A plane approaches New York’s World Trade Center moments before it struck the tower Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. Carmen Taylor AP
In this Sept. 11, 2001 file photo, President Bush’s Chief of Staff Andy Card whispers into the ear of the President to give him word of the plane crashes into the World Trade Center, during a visit to the Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Fla. Doug Mills ASSOCIATED PRESS
Pedestrians in lower Manhattan watch smoke billow from New York’s World Trade Center on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. Amy Sancetta AP
Marcee Holmes can’t hold her tears while watching television at Raleigh’s Sheraton Hotel of the World Trade Center terrorist attack Tuesday morning, Sept 11, 2001. “I’m stunned, amazed, this is surreal, like if I were watching a movie. I’m shaking, I can’t stop crying. My eyes are glued to the TV, I’m in mourning for anyone who died, so much happened so fast...”, Holmes says. Susana Vera News & Observer file photo
In this Sept. 11, 2001, file photo, the twin towers of the World Trade Center burn behind the Empire State Building in New York. Marty Lederhandler AP
A person falls from the north tower of New York’s World Trade Center in this Sept. 11, 2001 file photo, after terrorists crashed two hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center. Richard Drew AP
Two women hold each other as they watch the World Trade Center burn in New York Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. Ernesto Mora AP
In this Sept. 11, 2001, file photo, the south tower of the World Trade Center, left, begins to collapse after a terrorist attack on the landmark buildings in New York. Gulnara Samoilova AP
People run from the collapse of a World Trade Center tower in this Sept. 11, 2001 file photo. Suzanne Plunkett AP
Annette Dorman, who works as a policy analyst for the NC Farm Bureau, heard about the terrorist attacks on the radio at work and come to Circuit City on her lunch break because she wanted to see pictures of what was going on.”This means war,” she said while watching the news reports on the store’s televisions. “This means war.” Judith Siviglia News & Observer file photo
Pedestrians on Beekman St. flee the area of the collapsed World Trade Center in lower Manhattan following a terrorist attack on the New York landmark Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. Amy Sancetta AP
A military helicopter takes off after dropping off personnel at the Pentagon, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001 at the Pentagon, one day after a hijacker crashed American Airlines Flt. 77 into the building. Ron Edmonds AP
People run from the collapse of World Trade Center Tower Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001 in New York. Suzanne Plunkett AP
Emergency workers look at the crater created when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, Pa., in this Sept. 11, 2001 file photo. Keith Srakocic AP
Firefighters make their way through the destruction at New York’s World Trade Center after a terrorist attack on the twin towers of lower Manhattan Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. In the most devastating terrorist onslaught ever waged against the United States, knife-wielding hijackers crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center on Tuesday, toppling its twin 110-story towers. ALEX FUCHS AP
Airline passengers file off of a Jet Blue flight outside Terminal A Tuesday morning, Sept. 11, 2001, after the FAA grounded all flights in the United States. The carrier does not normally land at RDU. Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com
Firemen take a break near the site of the World Trade Center in New York, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001. Mark Lennihan AP
N.C. State senior Aaron Allsbrook holds his hands over his face while saying a prayer during a vigil in the brickyard on the N.C. State campus. Freshman Kiwanna Townsend is at left. The noon vigil was held after terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C Tuesday morning September 11, 2001. Scott Sharpe ssharpe@newsobserver.com
Firefighters, rescue workers and other personnel work on clearing the area near the World Trade Center Twin Towers in downtown New York Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001. LAWRENCE JACKSON AP
Police check identification at the entrance to RDU International Airport late Tuesday afternoon Sept. 11, 2001, after the terminals were closed, and traffic was funneled to one lane. Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com
Firefighters raise a flag late in the afternoon on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, in the wreckage of the World Trade Center towers in New York. Thomas Franklin The Record/AP
A flag and banner proclaiming “God Bless America, Woe to Our Enemies” are displayed at Top of the Hill Restaurant in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001. Zoning inspectors made the restaurant owner remove a banner after at least three town council members complained. Bill Willcox News & Observer file photo
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, center, along with New York governor George Pataki and Senator Hillary Clinton arrive at the site of the World Trade Center towers. Robert Bukaty AP
Kyle Marsh walks by a window at the Flying Saucer at the corner of Harrington and Morgan Streets. The windows were with the patriotic “GOD BLESS AMERICA” was painted by employees at the brew emporium Tuesday night following terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. Scott Sharpe ssharpe@newsobserver.com
Bishop Elroy Lewis from the Fisher Memorial United Holy Church leads a gathering from all different faiths in a closing prayer at the First Presbyterian Church in Durham Tuesday evening, Sept. 11, 2001. Chris Seward News & Observer file photo
As rescue efforts continue in the rubble of the World Trade Center in New York, President Bush stands with firefighter Bob Beckwith on a burnt fire truck in front of the World Trade Center during a tour of the devastation, Friday, Sept. 14, 2001. Doug Mills AP
A detail photograph of a letter to President George Bush from a Combs Elementary School Academically Gifted student. Students from Combs are writing the president to express their feelings about the terrorist attacks on the United States. Combs Elementary School is also initiating a fundraising campaign called “Nickels for NY” in which the kids will bring in their spare change, which will be donated to a group selected by the school’s student council. Mel Nathanson News & Observer file photo
Patience Whitehead (far right), a junior in Biology and Education, and other students pray for God’s wisdom and will to prevail during a prayer vigil for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States Tuesday Sept 11. at The Pit at the UNC campus in Chapel Hill, N.C. Mel Nathanson News & Observer file photo
This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 12:11 PM.
