On the morning of September 11th 2001 I had delivered a training session to teachers in Formby (Merseyside) - I was a schools adviser at that time - and popped into a local pub for lunch with my secretary and another colleague.
Imagine our surprise and horror at the live pictures showing on the TV. Two planes in quick succession crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York before our very eyes. After the second plane hit the second tower we knew that the first collision had been no accident.
[Britannica]
I don't think we ate much of our lunch.
After working in the office all afternoon I called into my local in Warrington (Cheshire) where the TV was re-capping the events of the day.
We learned of United Airlines flight 93 which crashed in a field just short of the Capitol after the passengers overcame the hi-jackers. We also found out that a fourth plane had failed to reach the Pentagon, its intended target, and crashed in the vicinity killing all on board.
US President Bush went into hiding, arabs cheered in the Middle East and the world gazed on in total shock.
[The Washington Post]
In that moment we knew that the world would never be the same again.
September 11th, 2026
Today is the 25th anniversary of this terrible occurrence. At Ground Zero, the site of the Twin Towers, which collapsed following the collisions by the two planes, there was a major event to commemorate the 2,996 dead and thousands more injured from that day. Amongst the various acts of remembrance the names of all the dead were read out.
Ground Zero, New York [Trip Advisor]
Astonishingly, President Trump did not attend. He preferred to make a private visit to a golf tournament in Ireland being held at a course which he owns. Shame on the man!
There were also vigils in London and other cities around the world.
© The History Man MMXXVI
Pictures:
Britannica, The Washington Post, Trip Advisor
Acknowledgements:
BBC, Sky News, Wikipedia
Tags:
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