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(by Jessica Simeone, New York Post) – New York’s Finest are remembering their fallen comrades on Twitter and Facebook.

The NYPD is honoring cops who were killed on 9/11 with a social-media campaign that details their sacrifice.

Before their names are officially read at [today]’s 11th anniversary ceremony, the department will post messages from its official Twitter account, @NYPDnews, once an hour for each NYPD victim, with links to individual memorial Facebook pages.

There, readers can learn about the men and women killed in the line of duty when terrorists crashed hijacked planes into the Twin Towers.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Dawn Kloepfer, whose husband, Ronald, was a member of the NYPD’s elite Emergency Service Unit. Kloepfer’s name was tweeted yesterday at 6 a.m.

“I think that most people nowadays go online to get information,” Dawn Kloepfer said. “Especially for younger people. Anyone under the age of 20 barely remembers what happened. Keep it alive. I think it’s [a good way to inform people].”

Each tweet will include a searchable hashtag that says “#neverforget.”  [Twenty-three NYPD officers were killed on 9/11. Some of the thousands of first responders who worked in rescue and recovery at Ground Zero developed fatal illnesses.]

The social-media memorial is the first one done by the department.

Paul Browne, an NYPD spokesman, said department officials came up with the idea after launching Facebook and Twitter accounts this year.

Reprinted here for educational purposes only. May not be reproduced on other websites without permission from The New York Post.

Questions

NOTE TO STUDENTS:  Before answering the questions, read the “Background” below and check out some of the videos or links under “Resources.”
 
1.  How many people were killed on 9/11?
 
2.  Who committed these horrific acts of terror? 
 
3.  Why did this group say they committed these attacks?
 
4.  Why/what is the NYPD tweeting about 9/11?
 
5.  Some people say we need to move past 9/11 and look to the future.  Others say “never forget.”  After watching the videos and reading more about 9/11, what do you think?  Explain your answer.

Background

September 11, 2001 (9/11):

  • The September 11 attacks (also referred to as 9/11) were a series of four suicide attacks committed by Muslim extremists against United States civilians on September 11, 2001, coordinated to strike the areas of New York City and Washington, D.C. 
  • On that Tuesday morning, 19 terrorists from the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger jets.
  • The hijackers intentionally piloted two of those planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center complex in New York City; both towers collapsed within two hours.
  • The hijackers also intentionally crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and intended to pilot the fourth hijacked jet, United Airlines Flight 93, into the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.; however, the plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after its passengers attempted to take control of the jet from the hijackers. 
  • Nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks, including the 246 civilians and 19 hijackers aboard the four planes.
  • Al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden cited U.S. support of Israel, the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq as motives for the attacks.
  • The United States responded to the attacks by launching the War on Terror and invading Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, which had harbored al-Qaeda.
  • In May 2011, after years at large, bin Laden was located and killed. (from wikipedia)

Deaths:  A total of 411 emergency workers died as they tried to rescue people and fight fires

  • The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) lost 340 firefighters, a chaplain and 2 paramedics.  
  • The New York City Police Department (NYPD) lost 23 officers.
  • The Port Authority Police Department lost 37 officers. 
  • Eight emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics from private emergency medical services units were killed.

At least 200 people fell or jumped to their deaths from the burning towers (as exemplified in the photograph The Falling Man), landing on the streets and rooftops of adjacent buildings hundreds of feet below.

Resources

Visit the NYPD Facebook page at: facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.267910033285786.63767.262068223869967&type=1

Watch a live webcast of the commemoration ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero in New York City, starting at 8:30 a.m. EST on September 11, 2012 at: 911memorial.org.

Watch a USAA timeline of events:

 

Watch a BBC report from the evening of 9/11:

Read about the attack on the World Trade Center at PentagonAttack911.com.

View one man’s story and pictures from 9/11 in New York at musarium.com/stories/america-attacked/berard/index.html.

Visit the Pentagon Memorial website at pentagonmemorial.org/learn/911-pentagon.

Visit the Shanksville, PA Memorial website at honorflight93.org.

September 11 Newspaper Archive: september11news.com/USAWebArchives.htm

The September 11 Digital Archive: 911digitalarchive.org.

On Sept. 11, 2002, President Bush proclaimed Sept 11th be observed as ‘Patriot Day’  usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/blpatriotsday.htm. (In 2009 President Obama declared Sept. 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance.)

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