September 11 News

Number 1 Resource for the Events of 9/11

It has been 12 years since the September 11 attacks, but no American will ever forget this event. It is probably the most tragic day in American history ever. We pause today to remember all those that lost their lives. Several officials including the president have made comments today about this tragic events:

The president of the Unites States, Obama stated: “Let us have the strength to face down the threats that endure, different though they may be from 12 years ago, so that as long as there are those who will strike our citizens, we will stand vigilant and defend our nation. Let us have the wisdom to know that while force is at times necessary, force alone cannot build the world we seek, so we recommit to the partnerships and progress that builds mutual respect and deepens trust and allows more people to live in dignity, prosperity, and freedom.”

Secretary of State John Kerry stated: “We pause to remember those we’ve lost and their families, and when we see their friends in the hall, we ask how they’re doing. My hope is that as we remember our fallen colleagues from both September 11s and all the other sad days, we never forget the reason we do what we do. And though we can’t inscribe all their names on a memorial, we also cannot forget the families and loved ones of those who serve and sacrifice in faraway places.”

Recently a 9/11 photo featuring the 2 lights that shine in the sky on ground zero on every 9/11 anniversary went viral on twitter. However, the credits to the picture where incorrectly given. The actual photographer John De Guzman noticed this and announced on Twitter that these were his pictures. You will see this amazing picture, which was actually taken in 2010 below (first two images). The rest of the images are from this year. If you would like to view more of John Deguzman’s photos, got to his  Flickr page and you can also purchase his photos from SmugMug.

On 9/11/2001, when it was discovered that Flight 93 may have been hijacked and would probably hit another major target, an F-16 was ordered to track it down and shoot down if necessary. However, due the urgency of the matter, the planes were departed without loading any missiles into them.  The two pilots were confronted about the situation and had agreed that if necessary they would ram their planes into the Flight 93 plane to avoid another disaster.

With only 105 lead-nosed bullets on board, Penney and Colonel Marc Sasseville took to the skies, while two other F-16s waited to be armed with heat-seeking AIM-9 missiles, Penney told C-SPAN television this week.

Heather Penney, then a lieutenant in the Washington DC National Guard, was one of two pilots ordered to take off with the plane.  “We wouldn’t be shooting it down. We would be ramming the aircraft because we didn’t have weapons on board to be able to shoot the airplane down,” Penney said.

She said she thought about possibly ejecting just before impact.

“I would essentially be a kamikaze and ram my aircraft into the tail of the aircraft. I gave some thought to, you know, would I have time to eject?”

But the young pilot was concerned about failing to hit the target.

“I mean you only got one chance, you don’t want to eject and have missed, right? “

Flight 93, which was headed from Newark, NJ to San Francisco had already been redirect for Washington, but it never made to its target as the people in the plane discovered what the plan of the hijackers might be and fought the hijackers which resulted in the crash of the plane.

“The people on Flight 93 were heroes, but they were going to die no matter what,” she said. “My concern was how do I minimize collateral damage on the ground.”

Here are the second part of most powerful photos of 9/11 as published in “Life.” To view part one, click here.

Lilliputian figures — firefighters stark against the grayish white dust that blanketed so much of lower Manhattan — walk a path cleared of rubble near the base of the destroyed south tower in the days after the attacks on 9/11.

An unidentified New York City fireman walks away from Ground Zero after the collapse of the towers on 9/11.

President George W. Bush was informed by his chief of staff Andrew Card of the attacks on the World Trade Center during a school reading event in Sarasota, Florida. At the time the president got slack for acting so calmly and not reacting right away and instead continuing to read for few more minutes. Later he explained that he didn’t want the students to freak out.

Satellite image of lower Manhattan taken on September 12, 2001, shows smoke and ash rising from the site of the World Trade Center.

Hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center (Twin Towers) and explodes at 9:03 a.m. on September 11, 2001 in New York City.

After 9/11, a man standing amid the seemingly endless World Trade Center rubble, calling out for survivors.

A man named “Edward Fine” walks away from ruble of 9/11. He was an owner of an investment and public relations firm; he was on the 78th floor of 1 World Trade Center when it was hit.

On ground zero, a New York City fireman calls for ten more rescue workers to make their way into the rubble after 9/11 attacks.

See part 3 of the 9/11 most powerful photos here.

Here are the Part 3 and last part of the Most Powerful 9/11 photos as published by Life. You can see part 1 and part 2 as well.

This image is probably one of the most famous 9/11 photos. It was made by Bergen Record photographer Thomas E. Franklin on the day of the attacks, eerily calls to mind one of American history’s most iconic pictures: Joe Rosenthal’s 1945 photograph of five Marines and a Navy corpsman raising the Stars and Stripes at Iwo Jima.

Jennifer S. Altman, a freelance photographer, took this picture of the towers ablaze, and far, far below them, one woman wearing an expression of pure horror. Five years later, Altman was invited to the home of the woman in red, Rose Parascandola, who had been working at an online-trading company on the 51st floor of WTC 1 on September 11. “She said that I really captured how she felt. She had seen it in the paper, and that it meant a lot to her.” For Altman, it was a meaningful photo, as well. “It was a turning point in my career. All my skills came together at once in a professional way. But it also made me very aware of my life; I don’t take things for granted.”

Looking West Over St. Paul’s, Lower Manhattan.

Men running from scene after collapse of one twin tower on 9/11/2001.

A man covered in dust walks in the street near the site of the World Trade Center towers in New York City, in this photo taken early September 11, 2001.

The north tower of New York’s World Trade Center collapsing after being struck by hijacked American Airlines Flt. 11, Sept. 11, 2001.

A rescue helicopter surveys damage to the Pentagon as firefighters battle flames after an airplane crashed into the U.S. military Headquarters outside of Washington in an apparent terrorist attack, September 11, 2001.

A firefighter runs from scene of 9/11 after one tower collapses.