Twenty-five years later – what you should know about 9/11

Wreckage from the collapse of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, New York, NY, September 11, 2001.

redo Jump to...
print Print...

On September 11, 2001 (“9/11”),   2,977 innocent people were murdered by Islamist terrorists. They included the passengers and crew on the four planes hijacked and intentionally crashed into the World Trade Center and Pentagon by the al Qaeda terrorists, thousands of workers inside the buildings, and 412 first responders — firefighters, police officers, and paramedics — who courageously rushed into the burning towers to save others and never made it out.

Watch the videos, then read the “Background” and check out the other links and videos under “Resources.”

Watch two news reports as it happened that morning:

Watch a video from the World Trade Center site in New York City – “Ground Zero” on 9/11:

The U.S. Pentagon –  live audio from Air Traffic Control and 911 First Responders:

Shanksville, Pennsylvania: Phone calls from passengers and crew on Flight 93.

In 2023, Scott Pelley, CBS/60-Minutes, spoke with New York City firefighters who were there that day and the loved ones of those who never made it home:

Questions

NOTE TO STUDENTS: Before answering the following questions, read the “Background” and look through the “Resources” below. Watch all of the videos to gain a feel for what it was like on that day.

1. Answer the following questions about 9/11:
a) Who was President on 9/11?
b) Who was the mayor of New York City on 9/11?
c) What three locations were the terrorists targeting?
d) How many planes were hijacked on 9/11? What were their flight numbers?
e) Where and when did each plane crash? (time, place and flight number)
f) Who were the terrorists? (religious ideology, terror group and nationality)
g) How many people were killed on 9/11?

2. How was the hijacking of Flight 93 different from those of Flt. 77 (Pentagon) and Flights 11 and 175 (World Trade Center)?

3. What was the motive of the Islamist terrorists for targeting and murdering so many innocent Americans? – Why did they do it?

4. What do you know about what actually happened on September 11, 2001 (“9/11”) as a result of the actions of al Qaeda terrorists? Scroll down to read “Background” below, then watch the videos and visit some of the links under “Resources” to gain an understanding of what people experienced that day.
List 2-3 things you did not already know about 9/11 from this information that you think is important for all Americans to know.
(For a timeline of what happened that day, go to timeline.911memorial.org)

5. Wikipedia states “On a typical weekday 50,000 people worked in the towers with another 200,000 passing through as visitors.” Many people believe it was due to God’s mercy that tens of thousands more were not killed that day. What do you think?

6. Ask a parent and a grandparent:
a) What do you remember about 9/11?
b) What do you think I should know about 9/11?

7.  a) After watching the videos in this post, and reading more about 9/11, what do you think?  Why is it  important for every American to “Never Forget” 9/11?  Explain your answer.
b) Ask a parent the same question.

CHALLENGE:
Describe the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993.

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;
    15 of the terrorists were citizens of Saudi Arabia,
    2 were  from UAE (United Arab Emirates),
    1 from Lebanon and
    1 from Egypt.

Early on the morning of September 11, 2001, 19 hijackers took control of four commercial airliners (two Boeing 757 and two Boeing 767) en route to California (three headed to LAX in Los Angeles and one to SFO in San Francisco) after takeoffs from Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts; Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey; and Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia. They intentionally crashed them into the WTC and Pentagon. Large planes with long flights were selected for hijacking because they would be heavily fueled.

The four flights were:

  • American Airlines Flight 11 departed Logan Airport at 7:59 a.m. en route to Los Angeles with a crew of 11 and 76 passengers, not including five hijackers. The hijackers flew the plane into the north side of the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City at 8:46 a.m.
  • United Airlines Flight 175 departed Logan Airport at 8:14 a.m. en route to Los Angeles with a crew of nine and 51 passengers, not including five hijackers. The hijackers flew the plane into the south side of the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City at 9:03 a.m.
  • American Airlines Flight 77 departed Washington Dulles International Airport at 8:20 a.m. en route to Los Angeles with a crew of six and 53 passengers, not including five hijackers. The hijackers flew the plane into the west side of the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, at 9:37 a.m.
  • United Airlines Flight 93 departed Newark International Airport at 8:42 am en route to San Francisco, with a crew of seven and 33 passengers, not including four hijackers. Flight 93 was heading toward Washington, D.C., with targets likely being the U.S. Capitol or the White House. However, after learning about the other attacks via airphones, the passengers fought back against the hijackers. Because of their extraordinary bravery, the plane crashed in an empty field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania at 10:03 a.m., saving countless lives on the ground.

The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed at 9:59 am;
The North Tower collapsed at 10:28 am.

Nearly 3,000 people died in these attacks, including the 246 civilians and 19 hijackers aboard the four planes.

NYC first responder 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 of NY and NJ lost 37 officers.
  • Eight emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics from private emergency medical services units were killed.

Directly following the attacks:

  • U.S. airspace was closed to civilian air traffic for two days.
  • Major professional sports leagues immediately called off games scheduled for September 11 and the days following.
  • Major League Baseball remained suspended for a full week, returning to play on Monday, September 17, 2001 after the MLB Commissioner consulted with the commissioners of other sports and President George W. Bush before making the decision for play to resume on Monday, Sept. 17.
  • The NFL postponed its full slate of weekend games for the upcoming week (rescheduling them for later in the season).
  • College football and Major League Soccer similarly cancelled or postponed events over the subsequent several days.
  • In New York City, the primary election taking place on 9/11 was rescheduled for 2 weeks later. NYC schools remained open on 9/11, were closed on September 12 and reopened on the 13th.

Notably, a massive wave of unity emerged. People lined up for hours to donate blood, volunteers rushed to New York to help clear debris, and American flags appeared on homes and cars across the country.

People gathered in parks, town halls, and places of worship to mourn. Makeshift shrines with candles, flags, and notes appeared outside firehouses, police stations, and public squares. 

Volunteers and donations poured into New York City, the Pentagon site in Virginia, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. 

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.

  • 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.
  • In May 2011, after years at large, bin Laden was located and killed in Pakistan by the members of U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six. (from wikipedia)
  • Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (“KSM”) was captured in 2003 in Pakistan by a combined operation of the CIA and Pakistani Intelligence. He was interrogated by U.S. operatives then transferred to military custody at Guantanamo Bay (GITMO) in 2006. Following years of delays and appeals, a judge recently set a new trial date for June 5, 2028, nearly 27 years after the September 11 attacks.

Both Osama bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) were equally guilty of the 9/11 attacks, but they held entirely different roles in orchestrating the September 11 attacks. While KSM was the tactical designer (“mastermind”) who thought up the plot, bin Laden was the supreme leader who funded, authorized, and staffed it.

At least 200 people fell or jumped to their deaths from the burning Twin Towers (as exemplified in the photograph The Falling Man), landing on the streets and rooftops of adjacent buildings hundreds of feet below.  Watch a video on The Falling Man photo with photojournalist Richard Drew:

What do you know about the FIRST World Trade Center terrorist attack in 1993?

  • On February 26, 1993, Islamic terrorists detonated a truck bomb below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.
  • The 1,336 pound device was intended to send the North Tower (Tower 1) crashing into the South Tower (Tower 2), bringing both towers down and killing tens of thousands of people.
  • It failed to do so but killed six people and injured more than a thousand.

Watch a report from 2013, the 20th Anniversary of the first bombing of the World Trade Center:

Watch footage from the 1993 terrorist attack:

Resources

Read additional articles:

See the videos below these links:

The 25th anniversary of 9/11:  The 9/11 Memorial & Museum’s annual ceremony will take place at the 9/11 Memorial Plaza starting at 8:40 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 11. The event typically concludes at approximately 1 p.m. The event includes an in-person reading of the names by victims’ family members, as well as six moments of silence recognizing when each World Trade Center tower was struck and when each fell, when the Pentagon was attacked and when Flight 93 crashed. Then, at sundown, the annual Tribute in Light will illuminate the sky above Ground Zero.

Watch a live broadcast of the commemoration ceremony in New York City here, (or or watch the livestream at local NYC news on PIX11.com) or at Shanksville and at the Pentagon on Sept. 11 – possibly at c-span.org.

President Trump will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks at the Pentagon. Vice President JD Vance will attend the 9/11 memorial at Ground Zero in New York City at the World Trade Center site. Other administration officials will attend the ceremony in Shanksville, PA.

On Sept. 11, 2002, President Bush proclaimed Sept 11th be observed as ‘Patriot Day.’ In 2009 President Obama renamed it ‘Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance.’  During his presidency, President Donald Trump proclaimed September 8–10 as National Days of Prayer and Remembrance, and proclaimed September 11 as Patriot Day. President Biden continued this tradition.
Psalm 46

Inside 7 World Trade Center Moments Before Collapse:

9/11 Audiotape of firefighters last moments:

Inside the lobby of Tower 1 at the World Trade Center just before it collapsed:

A September, 2011 [10 years later] ABC15 Arizona news report of a 9/11 video compiled by Rutgers University. ABC states “it is the most comprehensive collection of air traffic control recordings sends chilling reminders of the confusion, and heroism.”

Did you Know?  Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, (who was captured on March 1, 2003, in Pakistan) confessed to FBI agents to a role in many of the most significant terrorist plots over the last 20 years but President Obama, Vice President Kamala Harris and many other Democrats opposed the use of his confessions in court because enhanced interrogation methods were used (President Obama said the terrorists were “tortured” and there was concern that they would not be convicted, claiming their confessions were “coerced.”) Mohammed is the uncle of Ramzi Yousef, who was convicted on terrorism charges for his part in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and Ammar Al Baluchi, who is accused of involvement in multiple terror plots. After Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was captured, he was interrogated by psychologist Dr. James Mitchell.

On July 31, 2024, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged “mastermind” of the 9/11 terror attacks, and two of his co-conspirators agreed to plead guilty in exchange for sentences of up to life in prison rather than face a death-penalty trial.

After widespread public opposition, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin abruptly revoked the plea deal and he relieved the overseer in charge after years of effort to reach an agreement to bring the cases to a close.

In a surprise memo quietly released two days later – Friday night (August 2, 2024) – Austin said the responsibility for such a significant decision “should rest with me.”

In August 2026, a military judge delayed the trial for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed again. New date for trial is June 5, 2028.

On May 2, 2011, Navy SEAL Team 6 killed terrorist Osama bin Laden (founder of al-Qaeda) during a raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Get Free Answers

Daily “Answers” emails are provided for News Stories, Tuesday’s World Events and Friday’s News Quiz.

Sign up Now