13 years ago today our country was attacked by terrorists. I remember it clearly, hearing the news on the radio and calling my husband at work asking him if he'd heard from his friend who worked at the World Trade Center. My husband couldn't believe it, I couldn't believe it, yet we were naively confident it could never happen here. Terrorism only happened overseas, we only saw it on television. We were wrong.
Having found out that I was pregnant with my fourth child only a few days before, I wondered what kind of a world I was bringing my child into. Sitting at work at my desk, everything seemed surreal that I could be doing something so normal, so mundane, while in New York City people were suffering.
I was surprised and felt blessed when the calls from our business contacts came pouring in. People that we did business with were concerned about our safety and well being. It felt wonderful to know that even though miles separated us, that our tiny little company had made such an impact on these people.
Our thoughts were with our two bosses who were on travel overseas who were traveling home that had not yet arrived in the Buffalo Airport. Both arrived home safely.
8:46:40 a.m - American Airlines Flight 11 struck the norther facade of the North Tower of the World Trade Center between the 93 and 99th floors. 92 souls aboard. 1,344 trapped. Countless souls lost in the World Trade Center.
9:03:11 am - United Airlines Flight 175 strikes the southern facade of the Southern Tower of the World Trade Center between the 77th and 85th floors. 65 souls aboard. 700 killed or trapped. Countless souls lost in the World Trade Center.
9:37: American Airlines Flight 77 - crashes into the western side of the Pentagon in Washington DC 64 souls aboard. 125 souls in the Pentagon.
9:59 AM - South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses after burning for 56 minutes. Countless souls lost.
10:03 AM - United Airlines Flight 93 crashes into an empty field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania 33 heroic souls lost as they tried to subdue the attackers.
10:28 - North Tower of the World Trade Center collapses after burning for 105 minutes. Countless souls lost.
2977 souls were lost that day and that included civilians, firemen, policemen, and soldiers. This number does not include the 19 terrorists that were involved in this attack.
In less than two hours, thousands were lost and America lost her innocence forever.
Please pray for all of those lost on September 11, pray for their families, their friends, their loved ones. Each one of these lost souls is a hero, their loss made us stronger, their lives made an impact on us. Each one will never be forgotten.
God bless America
This is a very beautiful ode to that day, It is so personal and so global. Thanks for writing this, it is a day that changed us all.
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