20 Years Later
9/11
reflections on
North Carolina residents share their experiences of that tragic day INTRODUCTION AND Q&A BY BETH SHUGG PHOTOS BY BRUCE DEBOER (UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
Photo by cmart7327/E+ via Getty Images
S
eptember 11, 2001, started out like any other day. It was a pleasant 65 degrees in New York City, 70 degrees in Washington, D.C., and 55 degrees in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Families rushed to get ready for work and school. Military and civilian personnel began their commute through congested D.C. traffic to the Pentagon. Politicians headed to Capitol Hill. Wind wafted gently through a rural Pennsylvania field. Life carried on, as usual. Until 8:46 a.m. That’s when our country—and world—changed forever. 8:46 a.m. American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. 9:03 a.m. United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the south tower. 9:37 a.m. American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. 10:03 a.m. United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a Shanksville, Pennsylvania field. Overall, 2,977 perished, including 2,753 who were killed as a result of the attacks on the World Trade Center, 184 at the Pentagon and 40 in the United Airlines Flight 93 crash into what had been a peaceful Shanksville field. Not included in that death toll: 19 hijackers aboard the four jetliners. We all remember where we were and what we were doing at that fateful moment when the first news reports came out. Mobile phones were not yet smart enough to tweet or ping out headlines. Most of us heard about al-Qaida’s deadly attack via TV news reports or phone calls. Very few of us can say they were there—at ground zero—when tragedy struck. Here are perspectives from four North Carolinians who were. For one, ground zero was the World Trade Center. For another, it was near the Pentagon. You’ll also hear from a frontline reporter assigned to cover 9/11 for nine months, starting from day one. These North Carolinians experienced the terror of 9/11 in ways the rest of us are grateful we did not. Their emotional accounts of that tragic day are filled with reverence for those who lost their lives, and gratitude toward those who saved so many others. During this 20th anniversary year, let us remember them all.
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