9/11....

On this day, 13 years ago, and it started out as a normal day, didn't it? I mean, what normal everyday American citizen would have thought that one of the biggest tragedies to happen on American soil was going to happen on that day? Who could have imagined that an that on September 11th, of 2001, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks, launched by the islamic terrorist group al qaeda (whom no one had really heard of until afterwards), upon our great United States in New York and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. These attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and cause at least $10 BILLION in property and infrastructure damage? What? Who would have thought, am I right? 

But it did when four passenger airliners were hijacked by 19 al qaeda terrorists, so that they could be flown into buildings in a series of "suicide attacks". Two of those planes, American Airlines, flight 11 and United Airlines, flight 175, were crashed into the North and South towers, respectively, of the World Trade Center complex in New York City. Within two hours, both towers collapsed, with debris and resulting fires caused partial or complete collapse of all other buildings in the WTC complex, as well as causing significant damage to ten other large surrounding structures. 

A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the Pentagon (the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense), leading to a partial collapse in its western side. The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, was targeted at Washington, D.C., but crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after its passengers tried to overcome the hijackers. In total, almost 3,000 people died in the attacks, including the 227 civilians and 19 hijackers aboard the four planes. It also was the deadliest incident for firefighters and for law enforcement officers in the history of the United States, with 343 and 72 killed respectively.

The attacks resulted in the deaths of 2,996 people, including the 19 hijackers and 2,977 victims. The victims included 246 on the four planes (from which there were no survivors), 2,606 in New York City in the towers and on the ground, and 125 at the Pentagon. Nearly all of the victims were civilians; 55 military personnel were among those killed at the Pentagon.

More than 90% of the workers and visitors who died in the towers had been at or above the points of impact. In the North Tower 1,355 people at or above the point of impact were trapped and died of smoke inhalation, fell or jumped from the tower to escape the smoke and flames, or were killed in the building's eventual collapse. The destruction of all three staircases in the tower when Flight 11 hit made it impossible for anyone above the impact zone to escape. 107 people below the point of impact died as well.

In the South Tower, one stairwell (A), was left intact after Flight 175 hit, allowing 14 people located on the floors of impact (including one man who saw the plane coming at him) and four more from the floors above to escape. 911 operators who received calls from individuals inside the tower were not well informed of the situation as it rapidly unfolded and as a result, told callers not to descend the tower on their own. 630 people died in that tower, fewer than half the number killed in the North Tower. Casualties in the South Tower were significantly reduced by some occupants deciding to start evacuating as soon as the North Tower was struck.

Deaths (+ hijackers)

New York City	World Trade Center	2,606
	American 11	87 + 5
	United 175	60 + 5
Arlington	Pentagon	125
	American 77	59 + 5
Near Shanksville	United 93	40 + 4
Total		2,977 + 19

At least 200 people fell or jumped to their deaths from the burning towers (as exemplified in the photograph The Falling Man), landing on the streets and rooftops of adjacent buildings hundreds of feet below. Some occupants of each tower above the point of impact made their way toward the roof in hope of helicopter rescue, but the roof access doors were locked. No plan existed for helicopter rescues, and the combination of roof equipment and thick smoke and intense heat prevented helicopters from approaching. A total of 411 emergency workers died as they tried to rescue people and fight fires. The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) lost 340 firefighters, a chaplain, and two paramedics.The New York City Police Department (NYPD) lost 23 officers. The Port Authority Police Department lost 37 officers. Eight emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics from private emergency medical services units were killed.

Weeks after the attack, the death toll was estimated to be over 6,000, more than twice the number of deaths eventually confirmed. The city was only able to identify remains for about 1,600 of the World Trade Center victims. The medical examiner's office collected "about 10,000 unidentified bone and tissue fragments that cannot be matched to the list of the dead". Bone fragments were still being found in 2006 by workers who were preparing to demolish the damaged Deutsche Bank Building. In 2010, a team of anthropologists and archaeologists searched for human remains and personal items at the Fresh Kills Landfill, where seventy-two more human remains were recovered, bringing the total found to 1,845. DNA profiling continues in an attempt to identify additional victims. The remains are being held in storage in Memorial Park, outside the New York City Medical Examiner’s facilities. It is expected that the remains will be moved in 2013 to a repository behind a wall at the 9/11 museum. In July 2011, a team of scientists at the Office of Chief Medical Examiner was still trying to identify remains, in the hope that improved technology will allow them to identify other victims. On September 16, 2013, the 1,638th victim was identified. There are still 1,115 victims that have not been identified.

So here we are again, it's that time of the year. Thirteen years later, and I still cry. I am still haunted by the images I saw on the news. I am still fearful that it's going to happen again. Sure, at this point, I could go on some rant about certain of religious groups who's people need to be more closely monitored and we should be wary of. Yes, I could reel into a hate filled speech about how soft our country's underbelly has gotten because of the useless and spineless douchebags who hold office in certain elected positions. But not today. Today, I pray for the fallen. I pray for the innocent victims of an atrocious terrorist attack, perpetrated by cowards, the lowest form of life. I pray for those who lost a loved one. I pray for our great nation, in the hopes that we may never see tragedy like this ever again. I also pray that I will be well equipped and ready to fight back and protect my family when it does.