Twenty four years have gone by but we all still remember and will never forget 9/11. The 9/11 attacks were a series of coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda,with leader Osama bin Laden on Sept. 11, 2001. The attacks involved the hijacking of four commercial airplanes, Two planes struck the World Trade Center towers in New York City, causing them to collapse. A third plane hit the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew attempted to regain control. These arttacks resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people in New York City, Washington, DC and outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. and triggering the U.S. 'War on Terror”. This included 2,753 in New York City, 184 at the Pentagon, and 40 in Pennsylvania. Hundreds of first responders died at the World Trade Center. Additionally, thousands developed long-term health issues from exposure to toxic dust.
It remains the deadliest terrorist attack in history as well as the deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement personnel in American history, killing 343.
Cleanup of the World Trade Center site ('Ground Zero' as it was called) was completed in May 2002, while the Pentagon was repaired within a year. After delays in the design of a replacement complex, six new buildings were planned to replace the lost towers, along with a museum and memorial dedicated to those who were killed or injured in the attacks. The tallest building, One World Trade Center, began construction in 2006, opening in 2014. Memorials to the attacks include the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City, the Pentagon Memorial in Arlington County, Virginia, and the Flight 93 National Memorial at the Pennsylvania crash site.