Grand Central Narrative

September 11, 2001 is a day that shook the United States to its core. Millions of Americans felt the pain, the loss, and the anger that came with the attack on their nation. It was a day of mourning, and when it comes to days of mourning it is difficult putting one’s pain into words. However, Leonard Pitts Jr. was able to move past the emotion. He put into his words, not only his own feelings, but the feelings of an entire nation. Pitts conveys the emotion felt after the terror attacks in his essay “Sept. 12, 2001: We’ll go forward from this moment” through his mournful, angry, and righteous tone.

On September 11, 2001, Fire Station Four was expecting to have a normal day. All eight firefighters and the chief arrived to the station and got into their uniforms. At 8:45 a.m., they got a message. The north tower of the World Trade Center had been hit. A plane had been hijacked and flown into the tower. All of the firefighters and Chief Hosterman got into their trucks while in a state of terror.

Just like every Tuesday, Jane got up and ready for work. She got up at her usual time, about six AM, had a cup of coffee before she got her kids up and ready for school. As she’s helping her three year old daughter brush her teeth, Jane’s husband came in and said his final goodbyes to his wife. Sadly, neither Jane nor her husband knew that though. After about 7:45 AM Jane had her kids dropped off at school or preschool and was now on her way to work at The World Trade Center. September 11th use to be just a normal day in September until terrible events happened; these events changed America’s homeland security, started a war, and a memorial in New York.

It was the morning of September 11, 2001 in New York City. I woke up at 6:00 am to put my uniform on and say goodbye to my wife and children as I head off to work. The morning started off just fine, the sun was shining the skies were blue, and traffic was heavy as businessmen and women were headed to work. I work with Brooklyn’s Ladder Company No. 157 as a firefighter. I went into work and greeted my friend George johnson who is also a firefighter. It was around 8:47 when I got the call that they were dispatching us and telling us to head to the north tower because there was an attack. When I heard the news I was in shock and couldn't believe it, but I knew what had to be done. I remember running into that building and all I could think about was am i going to make it out to see my family again, my main goal was to stay safe, and help as many people as

September 11, 2001 (herein referred to as 9/11) was a day in American history, which will be remembered as the most horrific attack on American soil. This attack, carried out by nineteen Islamic extremists, was associated with al-Qaeda, and involved the hijacking of four airplanes. Two of those airplanes were hijacked and flown directly into the World Trade Center in New York City, New York. The third plane’s target was the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and the fourth plane was brought down in Pennsylvania where it is believed the passengers aboard fought the hijackers. This horrific day in history cost over 3,000 people their lives, and was labeled the worst attack on American soil since the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II.

Manhattan. September 11, 2001. Until this day the eleventh of september had always been a regular day, a usual day, a safe day. It was a beautiful Tuesday morning when thousands of workers had begun to make their way to the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Washington DC. Eager tourists and home sick patrons made their way to the airport and catch planes California bound. What they don’t know is that 19 hijackers from the terrorist group, Al Qaeda have also scrambled their way to the planes. What happened then would change American way of life forever.

September 11th, 2001 is now a date discussed in history lessons. While the post-9/11 generations may not have witnessed the changes of this tragic event, which rapidly filled every crevice of US society, they have an entire generation ready to narrate what they witnessed on and after that day. The expeditious reaction made a permanent mark on American culture.

You’re a fireman ready at any moment for the walls to collapse, you don’t know when but what matters is the 2 men you are carrying on your back to safety. You have lost all communication but know that you are in a life and death situation, you think of your family and all the people who are counting on you to stay alive. On September 11th, 2001 terrorism struck America. This event became a nationally recognized day and remembered by all Americans. Many people and even children can tell you exactly where they were when the tragedy occurred. On this day many men and women stepped up and became heroes. September 11th, 2001 was a devastating and tragic event in the history of the United States of America by resolving all the affects America became much stronger and turned fire fighters into American heroes and left a legacy that is to be remembered for generations to come.

One of the most traumatic events in American history took place on September 11th, 2016. Millions of lives were affected both directly and indirectly by the evil acts of a terrorist group on American soil. While the physical damage done by the days’ events were very clear, the emotional wreckage was a little bit harder to see. The ruble of the twin towers has been cleaned up, and a new building has taken its place but the mental hardships and consequences of the fateful days’ events are still being felt. Paul, a 5 year old in 2001, was a victim of the attack, and encountered unthinkable loss as a result of the inhume actions. The trauma that he was subjected to on 9/11 left a lasting impact on him, and has severely altered his mental health.

September 11, 2001 is a day that no American will ever forget. That day has left a mark on each an everyone of us. That day is commonly known as ‘9/11’ and was the longest day in New York City. Everyone needs to know the dangers of each day, no matter if you see if coming or not. No one on that day know what life changing experience they would go through. Shortly after arriving to work in September 11, 2001, the attacks took place. Flights 11, 77, 93, and 175 were hijacked early in the morning and the crashed occurred shortly after. Not only were the Twin Towers hit that day, but the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania were hit. There are many survivors who shared their incredible stories. They addressed what was going throughout their minds

September 11, 2001 began as a beautiful day with a clear blue sky, yet today people recognize it as “the single largest loss of life resulting from a foreign attack”(September 11, 2001 2016). These attacks conducted by the terrorist group, Al Qaeda, killed thousands of people and left their loved ones shocked and devastated. At first, the people thought the plane crashing into one of the twin towers was just an accident; it was not until the second collision that people realized America was truly under attack. Though this tragedy lasted only a day, people continue to feel the effects 15 years later, and most likely will in the future. After this terrible day, the security at many places– such as airports –was strengthened greatly. Many people, however, continue to live with the looming fear that another tragedy like this may recur. The attacks of September 11, 2001 greatly affected my mother, Anita Kaplan, because after that tragic day, she became paranoid in regards to the safety of her and her family, afraid to travel on airplanes, and more aware of both the world news and her surroundings.

Tuesday morning of September 11, 2001 was a day that no one will forget. I decided to write it out what happened to my family that very day in my mom’s perspective to make it easier to understand. My mom was in Pleasant Hill, CA and decided to skip that day of work because my older sister was sick. Madeleine, my eldest sister, was two at the time. Early in the morning a family friend of ours, Janet, called my mom asking if she saw what was happening. Janet said,” Jeanne the twin towers are on the ground, turn on the news!” My mom was so tired from staying up all night because of Madeleine that when she heard what happened she didn’t belive it. She quickly turned on the news and it replayed the airplanes hiting the twin towers and falling.

On September 11, 2001, the nation suffered a traumatic event in which impacted the world’s perspective on terrorism and violence that will last for generations to come. In the early hours of a calm Tuesday morning business was flowing as usual. The World Trade Center symbolized power and wealth of America, leading it to be the most prominent target to hit in order to cause deadly destruction. An eyewitness of the event, Ed Hashey described the first explosion that took place. He states, “Before you knew it, it was 8:40 a.m. and I was at the World Trade Center station at Cortland Street. I got off the train, walked up to the street exit, and right as I saw daylight, I heard a huge explosion and then many pieces of metal debris, some the size of car hoods, were falling all around me and a very large crowd of people” (Source 9). No one at the time understood what was happening, the nation was in a state of shock. This passenger airplane turned out to be American Airlines, Flight 11 which came out of Boston, Massachusetts from Logan International Airport (Source 1). The original route was heading to upstate New York when suddenly it was hijacked by terrorists which then controlled the plane to come down towards the city, specifically Manhattan in an aim to hit the World Trade Center. Everyone believed that it was a true accident and a tragedy, but to Ed Hashey he stated, “At that point the police ordered a mass evacuation, and I remember thinking this was a terrorist act. It was just too coincidental to be anything else” (Source 9). The worse was only yet to come.

For Mike Cross, September 11 was a different story. He started out his day by going to work for Planning Systems Incorporated in Stephenville until he heard about “a plane that crashed into a tower, you didn’t know it was a terrorist attack.” Mike’s office had an irregular approach to the situation, nobody made a big deal about it. Nobody went home. “It seemed like a far off distant place of New York.” Before 9/11, “Terrorism wasn’t in the vocabulary.” After the attack, nothing went back to the way it was before. “Everything was looked through the lens of terrorism.” The trust between fellow men and coworkers was gone, lost in the past. “Everyone was viewed as suspicious… and

People knew right away that this was a terrorists attack and that they had to help evacuate the towers quickly as possible because they knew that eventually it will collapse, but they figure out that they are going to struggle with the people who are above where the airplane hit.They would have to figure out a way because the airplane was blocking the way of the exit. Around 10:05, “The south tower of the World Trade Center collapses, plummeting into the streets below. A massive cloud of dust and debris forms and slowly drifts away from the building.”(CNN). Many people died within this tower everyone was in shock to see how quickly the tower collapse and how many people lost their lives. Firefighters had to move quickly and help people out that were stuck in the North tower before it also collapses. A few minutes later and, “The World Trade Center 's north tower collapses from the top down as if it were being peeled apart, releasing a tremendous cloud of debris and smoke.”(CNN). This terrorist attack, “killed 2,996 people and injured more than 6,000 others. These immediate deaths included 265 on the four planes, 2,606 in the World Trade Center and in the surrounding area, and 125 at the Pentagon”(Google). From this attack many people who didn 't do anything had to phase a tragic time and had to lose their lives.