We Will Never Forget That Day

Some events are so profound that we vividly remember where we were, what we were doing, who we were with or if we were alone, and the emotions we experienced at the exact moments they occurred. And we remember them for the rest of our lives.

Americans shared such an experience on a fall day in 2001 when the unthinkable happened.

The day began much like any other day. It was a particularly beautiful fall morning in my city on a day when unimaginable tragedy would manifest not long after sunrise. I’ll never forget that day.

I was the branch manager of an armored car facility in Lexington, Kentucky. That morning, after the last crew departed, I was alone in my office. The phone rang. It was one of my crew leaders. I'll never forget that call.

“Hey boss, are you watching TV?” His tone was serious. His voice revealed tension.

I said, “No, J.R., I'm in my office working. Why?”

He said, “You need to go turn on the news. Now!”

I asked why. J.R. told me. I’ll never forget those words.

I hurried to the breakroom, turned on the television, and was I shocked. The images I was viewing, and the words I was hearing were unbelievable.

I learned that a jetliner had crashed into the north tower at the World Trade Center. Then moments later, a second one had crashed into the south tower.

A dreadful reality emerged in my mind. There could be no doubt that these incidents were deliberate acts.

I knew this was not like any other day.

Then, the unthinkable happened again.

As I watched CBS correspondent David Martin reporting live from the Pentagon, I heard a loud noise in the background. Martin said there had been an explosion. His viewers soon learned that a third jet had crashed into the Pentagon.

Before the harsh truth that America was under attack by terrorists could be fully absorbed, the news came that a fourth hijacked plane believed in route to Washington, D.C. had crashed in Pennsylvania.

I’ll never forget what I heard, what I saw, and what had happened on that fall morning.

That day, nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists had hijacked and crashed four U.S. commercial flights in a coordinated assault.

It was a Tuesday. It was September 11, 2001.

It was the day that our way of life in the United States of America was irrevocably changed.

The combined assaults on 9/11 against innocent men, women, and children in the United States is the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of humanity.

There were 6,000 injured, but the loss of life was staggering. Not counting the terrorists who perpetrated the attacks, 2,977 souls perished.

We have commemorated 9/11 ever since to memorialize the victims of that fateful day: those whose lives were taken from us and those whose lives were given for us.

We remember those whose lives were taken from us.

■ These were innocent people who were ruthlessly?killed by those unknown to them.

The first three planes targeted iconic buildings: The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the U. S. Pentagon.

• 8:46 AM—the hijackers crash American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower.
• 9:03 AM—in the second attack, hijackers strike the South Tower with United Airlines Flight 175.
• 9:37 AM—the Pentagon is hit by the third hijacked plane, American Airlines Flight 77.

In 51 minutes, the three planes had hit their targets.

According to 911memorial.org, 26 crew members served those three fateful flights carrying 180 passengers. In less than an hour, 206 lives aboard these flights were taken from us.

Due to severe damage and fires, both towers in New York collapsed within 102 minutes from the first attack. The south tower fell at 9:59, and the north tower collapsed at 10:28.

In all, 2,312 innocent people were taken from us at the World Trade Center: 147 in the planes and 2,165 in the towers. The toll was 2,937 counting first responders.

At the Pentagon, 125 died from the crash impact and ensuing fire—70 civilians and 55 military personnel. The E Ring of the Pentagon collapsed at 10:15 AM.

That day — 9/11/2001 — 2,496 lives were taken from us.

We remember those whose lives were given for us.

■ These were the heroes who bravely sacrificed themselves for those unknown to them.

Those who courageously gave their own lives to save others included both professionals and civilians: first responders in New York and the brave souls onboard Flight 93.

In New York, first responders dispatched immediately when the first tower was hit. As people frantically ran out of Tower 1, brave firefighters, police officers, and paramedics gathered around and ran into it. Many would ultimately give their lives in a noble effort to save others.

Tragically, 441 first responders died, including 343 firefighters. It was the most substantial loss of first responders in history.

At 10:03, the fourth plane, United Flight 93, went down in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The passengers and crew knew about the other attacks from phone calls and attempted to gain control of the plane by storming the cockpit when just 20 minutes from Washington.

The terrorist piloting the plane crashed it, but the valiant fight by those brave souls on board—33 passengers and 7 crewmembers—ultimately saved countless lives. It is believed that the terrorist’s target was The White House.

Professionals and courageous civilians were heroes that day—481 lives given for us.

On Tuesday, 9/11/2001, America lost 2,977 innocent men, women, and children in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in a field in Pennsylvania.

Because many of the victims in the towers and at the Pentagon bravely helped one another, countless lives were saved. Without their heroism, the loss would have been even worse.

That evening President George W. Bush addressed the nation and the world. In closing, he said, “None of us will ever forget this day.”

Eighteen years have passed since that day.

I have not forgotten.

We have not forgotten.

Today, once again, we commemorate those who were taken from us and those who gave themselves for us.

We honor all those who survived that day but whose lives are forever changed. We honor all those who lost loved ones and people near and dear to them and are grieving still today. And we honor those who have died or now suffer because of illness and trauma related to the aftermath of 9/11.

We will never forget those we lost.

We will never forget that day.

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Times and statistics are from 911memorial.org.

Learn more about the events of 9/11 and the 9/11 Memorial and Museum at 911memorial.org

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■ Gary J. Lanham is the founder of Lanham Creative Content and an experienced manager, trainer, and speaker. He received his B.S. in Business Administration and M.B.A. from Winthrop University. Gary helps people with content creation for LinkedIn and other platforms.

You can see Gary's LinkedIn content here.

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