September 11, 2001, will any of us ever forget that date? It took our breath away as realized what happened at 8:45 a.m. I was only in first grade, but I remember like it was yesterday. I was sitting in Mrs. Carney’s room and we were having math class. She left the room for a brief moment, and when she came back she said to stop what we were doing and to go into the gym. When we got into the gym there were some teachers crying, and we kept asking them what was wrong, but they wouldn’t tell us. Even being a little kid I can remember feeling scared, because I knew something was wrong. It wasn’t until I got home after school that my mom and dad had told me what had happened. Two planes, one at 8:45 a.m. and one at 9:03 were hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. The third plane crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, VA. The fourth plane was headed for Washington, because of the heroic acts of men and woman on that plane that figured out what was going on, took over and crashed it in a field in rural Pennsylvania.
Here are some numbers that will devastate us forever. 246 passengers died on the four planes. 2,605 people perished at the World Trade Center. 125 people died at the Pentagon. There were 411 emergency workers, which included firemen, EMT’s, and policemen that risked their lives to save others in need. In just under two hours the buildings collapsed after the planes hit them. The damage from the buildings and surrounding buildings cost lower Manhattan billion of dollars. This attack not only took a toll on Manhattan, but also on the rest of the country’s economy. A Church that has not only survived the attack of 9/11, but also offered comfort during the many months after, is St. Paul’s. A block from the World Trade Center is where it has stood even through the Revolutionary war.
Have you ever lost luggage when you are flying? That‘s the one thing that frustrates most everyone. On 9/11 one single piece of luggage did not make it on the plane that was hijacked. This suitcase turned out to be one of the most important pieces of information to discover about Al-Qaida. It belonged to the leader of the terrorist involved in the 9/11 attack. Without this we could not have proved it was Al-Qaida that was responsible for this attack. The suitcase had their plans, the people involved in the attack, and why they planned this attack on the United States.
On September 20, President Bush spoke saying, “These attacks were supposed to put our country into chaos, but our country is strong…. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundation of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. The United States is one of the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity, and no one will keep that light from shining.” President Bush passed the Homeland Security Act, and the Patriot Act. President Bush with the information he was given, declared war on Afghanistan. This was where the Taliban were located and helped Al-Qaida with the attack. So easy people forget how difficult this must have been for President Bush. I still admire him. I am very thankful he did what he needed to do keep our country safe after 9/11.
People of the City have been debating whether or not to build a mosque and Islamic Community Center. In my opinion this should be built somewhere else. They have a right to do it, but I don’t think they should, two blocks is way too close. Put it a mile away or even farther, it doesn’t matter. There are plenty of other places to build it rather than such a fragile area.
In my opinion we don’t want another catastrophic event like this happening again, we should stand our ground. We should keep the battle over there and not have it come over here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks
8Madison
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