Thursday, September 11, 2008

Seven Years Later


Seven years ago today 2,966 people were murdered during one stunningly beautiful morning in New York City. Two of the victims, a fireman and a police officer ran into the towers with the hopes of saving lives but unaware that as a result of their heroic actions my own family would become smaller by two.


So today I will listen for their names just as I have done in the past. I will be looking towards where the towers once stood and feel the ache and sadness within my heart that I always do when I look at the empty spot in the skyline. Today I will pray. I will pray for understanding, and for peace. I will pray for the future of this world and its children. I will pray that this evil never happens again. I will pray that my heart never hardens to the point where I can’t forgive. Today I will grieve for my lost family members and I will grieve for the other 2, 964 victims as well who were also a part of someone’s family. I will also grieve for the bit of innocence that my city lost that day. Seven years later I still grieve for what was lost. Seven years later I still cry.



According to the stats on the September 11th attacks at least 2,985 people died, including:
•19 terrorists
•2,966 victims
All but 13 people died on that day. Thirteen died of their wounds. One person has died since the attacks, of lung cancer. It is suspected to have been caused by all the debris from the Twin Towers.

There were 266 people on the four planes:
•American Airlines Flight 11 (crashed into the WTC): 92 (including five terrorists)
•United Airlines Flight 175 (crashed into the WTC): 65 (including five terrorists)
•American Airlines Flight 77 (crashed into the Pentagon: 64 (including five terrorists)

•United Flight 93 (downed in Shanksville, PA): 45 (including four terrorists)
There were 2,595 people in the World Trade Center and near it, including:
•343 NYFD firefighters and paramedics
•23 NYPD police officers
•37 Port Authority police officers
•1,402 people in Tower 1
•614 people in Tower 2
•658 people at one company, Cantor Fitzgerald
•1,762 New York residents
•674 New Jersey residents
1 NYFD firefighter killed by a man jumping off the top floors of the twin towers
There were 125 civilians and military personnel at the Pentagon.

1,609 people lost a spouse or partner on 9/11. More than 3,051 children lost parents. While there were mostly Americans killed in this horrific attack one must mention (how ever small the group) that non survivors were from other countries:
327 foreign nationals also perished.
Argentina: 4 [1] Australia: 11 Bangladesh: 6 Belarus: 1 [2] Belgium: 1 Bermuda: 1 Brazil: 3 Canada: 27 [3][4] Chile: 2 China: 4 Cte d'Ivoire: 1 Colombia: 17 Democratic Republic of the Congo: 2 Dominican Republic: 1 El Salvador: 1 Ecuador: 3 France: 1 Germany: 11 Ghana: 2 Guyana: 3 Haiti: 2 Honduras:1 India: 1 Indonesia: 1 Ireland: 6 [5] Israel: 5 Italy: 4 Jamaica: 16 Japan: 26 Jordan: 2 [6][7][8] Lebanon: 3 Lithuania: 1 Malaysia: 7 Mexico: 16 Moldova: 1 Netherlands: 1 New Zealand: 2 Nigeria: 1 Panama: 2 [9] Peru: 5 Philippines: 16 Portugal: 3 [10] Poland: 1 Russia: 1 South Africa: 2 South Korea: 28 Spain: 1 Sweden: 1 Taiwan: 1 Ukraine: 1 Uzbekistan: 1 [11] United Kingdom: 67 [12] Venezuela: 1

Posts I’ve written in the past about 9.11:
My memories of 9.11
Five Years Later
Ghosts of 9.11

Labels: 9.11

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