9/11 and the Effects on America
Everyone remembers where and what they were doing on September 11, 2001; it is a day that changed the country forever. On this devastating day, Family members and friends were lost, lives were taken away, and New York City was torn to pieces. Two planes hit the Twin Towers, otherwise known as the World Trade Center. One plane was flown into the Pentagon located in Virginia. One last plane was flown into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after being taken over by the passengers. The nineteen men who hijacked these planes were from the Islamist militant group known as al-Qaeda. (The 9/11 Commission Report) Four planes, nineteen terrorists, and almost 3,000 dead people later, the United States of America has been changed forever. (A Nation Challenged 80)
The Pentagon is almost a city in itself; 23,000 people work there on an average day. (A Nation Challenged 24) American Airlines Flight 77 was intended to be from Washington to Los Angles, California. Instead, the plane was flown into the Pentagon. (The 9/11 Commission Report 3) Five hijackers boarded this plane. Terrorists Khalid al Mihdhar and Majed Maqued boarded the plane at 7:15 a.m. The other three terrorists, Hani Henjour, Navaf al Hazmi, and Salem al Hazmi, boarded the plane at 7:35 a.m. (The 9/11 Commission Report). At 9:37 a.m., the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia was hit. (A Nation Challenged 24) 184 people died at the Pentagon, including the fifty-nine dead on the plane. (A Nation Challenged 44) The Pentagon was built to withstand any kind of terrorist attack. On September 11, 2001, the architects’ plans failed, and it did not withstand this plane. Many witnesses said the ground and building shook like a “rickety rollercoaster.” (A Nation Challenged 24)
United Airlines Flight 93 was to be flown from Newark, New Jersey to San Francisco, California, but was instead flown into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The hijacker’s initial target for this plane was...