September 11, 2001: The Day the World Changed
On September 11, 2001, four commercial jet airliners were hijacked, two of which were crashed into the two towers of the World Trade Center in New York. The first plane, American Airlines flight 11, hit the north tower at 8:46 A.M., and the second, United Airlines flight 175, hitting the south tower at 9:02 A.M. The total number of fatalities of this catastrophe was 2,998 making this the biggest terrorist attack to ever happen on American soil. After all of this devastation came the question of whether or not to put a memorial where the towers used to stand. After the attacks, temporary memorials were scattered everywhere around ground zero, but plans for a more permanent memorial were put on hold.
After the attacks, many peoples lives everywhere , not just New Yorkers’, were changed forever. With that great of a devastation millions of people across the country were affected by the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Many people living in New York witnessed these atacks, which I cannot even imagine. Yvonne Burton, a New Yorker and an eyewitness to the terrorist attacks writes:
“After hearing sirens and explosions this morning, I walked into my living room to find that both twin towers that dominate the view from my window, were on fire. In shock I immediately attempted to contact my boyfriend who works close to the towers. My flat is on the 22nd floor of a building on Union Square which faces south so my view was unimpeded. I initially thought it was merely a fire and that the towers would be heavily damaged. I switched on the news to find to my horror that it was a terrorist attack. When the first tower collapsed, I began to shake and cry as it was so terrifying and unexpected.
My boyfriend, was trapped in his building due to the volume of debris and smoke, which had turned the day to night and made breathing impossible. Thankfully he was later able to walk home and is unharmed. The streets are...