On 11 September 2001 a series of attacks were launched on America.
It was a day that many around the world would never forget.

30% of Americans cannot say with accuracy the year that the 9/11 attack happened.

Timeline
7:58 a.m. - United Airlines Flight 175 departs Boston for Los Angeles, carrying 56 passengers, two pilots, and seven flight attendants. The Boeing 767 is hijacked after takeoff and diverted to New York.

7:59 a.m. - American Airlines Flight 11 departs Boston for Los Angeles, carrying 81 passengers, two pilots, and nine flight attendants. This Boeing 767 is also hijacked and diverted to New York.

8:01 a.m. - United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing 757 carrying 38 passengers, two pilots, and five flight attendants, leaves Newark, N.J., for San Francisco.

8:10 a.m. - American Airlines Flight 77 departs Washington's Dulles International Airport for Los Angeles, carrying 58 passengers, two pilots, and four flight attendants. The Boeing 757 is hijacked after takeoff.

8:46 a.m. - American Flight 11 from Boston crashes into the North Tower at the World Trade Center.

It hit the building between the 95th and 103rd floors.

Thousands of people were already at their desks in both towers. About 80 chefs, waiters and kitchen porters were also in the Windows on the World restaurant on the 106th floor. Many who worked for firms located in the crash zone were killed instantly. Those on the floors above were already doomed, their escape routes cut off by fire.

9:03 a.m. - United Flight 175 from Boston crashes into the South Tower at the World Trade Center. - U.S. Federal Aviation Administration shuts down all New York area airports.

United Airlines flight 175 crashed into the south tower 17 minutes later. The plane caused an explosion on impact and sent a plume of fire out of the opposite side of the building.

Many people in the south tower witnessed the first crash and were already trying to leave the building. Some office workers had been told to remain at their desks, resulting in possibly fatal delays. Some people above the fires chose to jump to their death rather than wait for the flames.

Hundreds of firefighters and police arrived at the scene to help the office workers escape.

9:21 a.m. - Bridges and tunnels leading into New York City are closed.

9:25 a.m. - All domestic flights are grounded by U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

9:45 a.m. - American Flight 77 crashes into The Pentagon.

 

10:05 a.m. - The South Tower at the World Trade Center collapses.

10:05 a.m. - The White House is evacuated.

10:10 a.m. - A large section of one side of The Pentagon collapses.

10:10 a.m. - United Flight 93 crashes in a wooded area in Pennsylvania, after passengers confront hijackers.

PASSENGERS AND CREW:  Christian Adams Lorraine G. Bay* Todd Beamer Alan Beaven Mark Bingham Deora Bodley Sandra W. Bradshaw* Marion Ruth Britton Thomas Burnett William Joseph Cashman Georgine Corrigan Patricia Cushing Capt. Jason M. Dahl* Joseph DeLuca Patrick Driscoll Edward P. Felt Jane C. Folger Colleen Fraser Andrew Garcia Jeremy Glick Kristin Gould Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas Wanda A. Green* Donald Greene Linda Gronlund Richard J. Guadagno Leroy W. Homer Jr.* Toshiya Kuge CeeCee Ross Lyles* Hilda Marcin Waleska Martinez Nicole Carol Miller Louis Joseph Nacke II Donald Peterson Jean Peterson Mark "Mickey" Rothenberg Christine Ann Snyder John Talignani Honor Elizabeth Wainio Deborah Anne Jacobs Welsh*
* Denotes crew member

10:28 a.m. - The North Tower at the World Trade Center collapses.

 

Twenty-nine minutes later the north tower joined its twin. The floors "pancaked" down and crushed the many people who remained inside.

People on the ground ran for their lives as a cloud of debris hit the streets of lower Manhattan. The dust clouds coated the city.

After the collapse of the World Trade Center more than 5,000 people were declared missing. Rescuers worked around the clock, carefully searching the ruins in the hope of finding people alive. Five survivors were found in the first 24 hours.

Often people can survive for many days in collapsed buildings, but the weight of the floors and scale of the disaster made this possibility unlikely in New York. Initial hopes that many people would be discovered alive soon began to fade.

"Unless you were personally involved, most people forget about it until this time of year."  John Yates, a worker of the pentagon, one of the survivors of the attack on 9/11 says. 

"I tell my story so people won't forget. We should never forget."

"Never forget" is a frequent refrain among survivors of 9/11.

But it is one that Debra Wagner does not much care for.

Mrs Wagner, who was standing just one floor above John Yates in the Pentagon on 11 September 2001, wants the slogan to be "Always remember".

"I want them to remember the people who were in the Pentagon and the Trade Center and that field - the souls, the lives, what they brought to us.

"'Never forget' seems angry, a command. 'Always remember' is positive. It's an option," she says.

Jim Laychak is now president of the Pentagon memorial fund, which is raising money to build a commemoration at the site.

He agrees with Mr Yates that people who were not directly affected on 9/11 have largely moved on.

"It's tough for people to stay involved. Life goes on."

But, he says: "We have to remember how we felt that day, that horrible sick feeling when I realised my brother wasn't coming back."

And, he adds, people need to remember the positive aftermath of the attacks as well, "the compassion, people wanting to come together and support each other".

Losing his brother has changed his life, Mr Laychak is certain.

http://www.cantcryhardenough.com/  click here to be directed to a phenomenal site in tribute of the victims of 9/11.  It's truly a moving video and the song is awesome.

Strength is born in the deep silence of suffering hearts; not amidst joy. ~ Mrs. Hermans

Can't Cry Hard Enough
Performed By: Victoria Williams
Written By: David Williams & Marvin Etzioni
From the Album: Swing the Statue p & c 1990 Rough Trade Records

I'm going to live my life
Like every day's my last
Without a simple goodbye
It all goes by so fast

And now that you're gone
I can't cry hard enough
No I can't cry hard enough
For you to hear me now

I'm going to open my eyes
And see for the first time
I've let go of you like
A child letting go of his kite

There it goes up in the sky
There it goes beyond the clouds
For no reason why
I can't cry hard enough
No I can't cry hard enough
For you to hear me now

I'm going to look back in vain
And see you standing there
When all that remains
Is just an empty chair

And now that you're gone
I can't cry hard enough
No I can't cry hard enough
For you to hear me now