September 11, 2001, will be remembered as one of the most horrible and unthinkable days in American history. The events of this day have affected the lives of every person in the world. Early in the morning on September 11, four planes were hijacked at different airports in the northeast. At about 8:48 AM, the first airplane crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. About 15 minutes later, a second airplane crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center. A third airplane crashed into the pentagon at about 9:43 the same morning. A fourth airplane crashed into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, about half an hour later.

About an hour later, both the south and north towers of the World Trade Center collapsed. In the evening of the same night, a third building at the World Trade Center Complex collapsed. The World Trade Center symbolized the great economic status of the United States. Both of the towers were 110 stories high, and each contained 110 acres of office space. The two towers cost $1 billion to build in 1970. To replace them today would cost at least $10 billion. Ten percent of all the office space in Manhattan was lost when the towers collapsed.

This act of terrorism caused the greatest loss of life in a single day in the history of the United States. As many as 6,000 people are presumed dead, including passengers on the hijacked airplanes, employees of The Pentagon, innocent civilians at the World Trade Center Complex, and heroic firefighters and police personnel trying to rescue survivors from the Twin Towers. The death toll could have been higher, if not for the courageous actions of the passengers aboard the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania.

The United States needs to find and punish all of the people that were involved in these unthinkable actions. Finding them is not going to be easy. The main suspect is Osama bin Laden and his terrorist group, Al-Qaeda, supported by the Taliban government of Afghanistan. When the United States retaliates against these terrorists, most of the countries of the world will be on America’s side. The United States has become stronger and more united because of these horrific actions that took place on September 11, 2001.

by CH age 17