“Today, I will be too calm for worry, too noble for anger and too strong for defeat. Today, I will believe anything is possible…I will walk through fear without hesitation. Today, I will stand for something.
Today, I will make a difference.”
The National September 11 Memorial is a tribute of remembrance and honor to the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center site, near Shanksville, Pa., and at the Pentagon, as well as the six people killed in the World Trade Center bombing in February 1993.
The Memorial’s twin reflecting pools are each nearly an acre in size and feature the largest manmade waterfalls in the North America. The pools sit within the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood. Architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker created the Memorial design selected from a global design competition that included more than 5,200 entries from 63 nations.
The names of every person who died in the 2001 and 1993 attacks are inscribed into bronze panels edging the Memorial pools, a powerful reminder of the largest loss of life resulting from a foreign attack on American soil and the greatest single loss of rescue personnel in American history.
The Pentagon Memorial is designed so that the nation may remember and reflect on the events that occurred on September 11, 2001. The Memorial will be free and open to the public seven days a week. Groups and individuals are welcome in the Memorial each day but guided tours are not offered; the Memorial is meant to be experienced on a more personal level.
A memorial to the passengers and crew of United Flight 93 opened Saturday on the spot where the plane crashed in western Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001.
The Washington Post reported that thousands of people attended the dedication. Former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky read the names of the dead with a bell tolling twice for each one.
The plane, bound for San Francisco, became the fourth flight hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001, shortly after takeoff from Newark, N.J. Passengers who learned that three other planes had been flown into the World Trade Center and Pentagon from cellphone conversations tried to overpower the hijackers, leading to the crash in Shanksville, Pa.
Where were you on 9/11? Do you have a personal story to share with us? Please share your story and remembrances with us!
Thank you for a wonderful blog and video on this bittersweet day. We stand tall and recognize those lives that were lost in this horrible tragedy.
Beautiful tribute.
Very nice tribute. I look forward to visiting the memorial site in NYC.
I do remember that I was glued to the TV for too many hours on 9-11. Some of the time I just sat there crying.
I watched Flight #93 last night on TV, It reminded us again how brave those men were who took it upon themselves to attempty to take control of the plane. Who knows how many more lives would have been lost if it had crashed into the White House or Capitol. They showed the hole in the ground where the plane hit in PA, with snow coming down, and then with grass over it.
Thanks for a wonderful blog and video.
I worked for American Airlines on 9/11. Just as I was getting ready to walk out the door at home to go to work, I looked at the TV screen that was on in my living room and saw the horrific image of the plane fly into the first tower. For some reason, I immediately felt it was a terrorist attack. It was something about the way the plane banked as it headed into the tower – as though it were taking aim. Shortly after, when the second plane flew into the 2nd tower, I knew it was definitely not an accident.
When I got to work at our Corp. Headquarters in Ft. Worth, the building was already in lockdown. I will never forget this tragic day in our history.
Though nothing can ever erase the tragedy, I search for a way connect with the ones who lost loved ones that day. The best thing I can come up with is to love and hold close those we love. Make everyday count. I heard someone say, on this, the tenth anniversary of 9/11, that one way to honor the dead that died in that attack is call someone you love. I will.
I worked for American Airlines on 9/11. Just as I was getting ready to walk out the door at home to go to work when the plane flew into to the first tower., I saw it on the TV set in my living room. I felt right then that it was a terrorist attack because of the way the plane banked before it hit the tower – as if aiming at the building. When the second tower was hit, I knew it was not an accident. By time I arrived at work at Headquarters in Ft. Worth, my office building was in lockdown.
I will never forget that day. On this 10th anniversary of 9/11, I pray for the families of the people who were killed that day, and for our country. It makes me know more than ever that I must savor the people I love. I will call a loved one today.
Thanks for a very moving tribute. Did you see Paul Simon sing The Sound of Silence at the memorial? It brought tears to my eyes. It was like a prayer.
On 9/11 I was at my desk at work. I had placed a call and was on hold. Usually, there would be radio station music playing while you waited, but that morning there were 2 DJ’s talking about something terrible that had happened. I asked one of my coworkers, who was very computer savey, to check out what was going on. That was just after the first plane had gone into the World Trade Center. We watched the unfolding events, and then had to let the students in the high school know what was happening. I’ll never forget that day. Parents were calling and coming in to pick up their children to take them safely home.
What a beautiful tribute. I so remember that day…and it was so hard to believe that this had happened. Watched the TV all day…with tears in my eyes. I pray for all the families who lost loved ones.
Thank you for the beautiful tribute for 9/11. We remember.
On that disastrous day, I was reading the paper and occasionally glancing at the TV, when one of the announcers broke in and said that a plane had just hit one of the towers. They were going back and forth, surmising that it was a horrible accident. Then all of a sudden another plane showed up and crashed into the other tower. It was absolutely surreal. My initial thoughts were that "this is like a movie scene". Regrettably, that was not the case.
Thanks for posting the pictures of all three crash sites. The video of the Season 2 group singing God Bless the USA is very apropos. Your blog is a fitting tribute to all the victims of the attacks.