Background
On the morning of September 11, 2001, four commercial US airplanes were hijacked in flight. The 19 hijackers, later identified as members of the terrorist group al Qaeda, were on a suicide mission. They flew two of the planes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, just as people were starting their work day. The north tower was hit at 8:46 a.m. The second plane hit the south tower at 9:03 a.m.
At 9:37 a.m., the third plane hit the Pentagon, headquarters of the US Department of Defense, located just outside Washington, DC. At 9:59 a.m., the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed. Minutes later, at 10:03 a.m., the fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania. Passengers had learned from cell phone conversations that the nation was under attack and had stormed the hijackers. The target of the fourth plane was either the White House or the US Capitol. At 10:28 a.m., the north tower of the World Trade Center collapsed.
September 11, 2001, was the first time the United States had been directly attacked since the War of 1812. The bombing of Pearl Harbor, a military target, brought the United States into World War II. But Hawaii was a territory in 1941, not located on the mainland and not yet a state. Nearly 3,000 people died on 9/11, including passengers on the planes, people who were in the buildings, first responders, and the hijackers.
Images
Hilary North, Memorial collage/mat board of a survivor’s efforts to find finds, 2001. New-York Historical Society, Gift of Hilary North, 2003.72.
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