The Bravest

Afterword

September 11th, 2001, more often referred to as 9/11, was a day that quickly launched its way to the forefront of American history. It is the single worst terrorist attack in America's history and in the modern world. In New York, 2,606 people lost their lives, including 343 firefighters and 72 law enforcement officers, the worst loss of life for both firefighters and law enforcement agents in the United States. 90% of the casualties from the Twin Towers came from those trapped above the impacts of the planes. In the North Tower, all stairwells were destroyed and any escape routes demolished. In the South Tower, one stairwell survived due to the haphazard impact of the second plane, although only a few people managed to make it through before the tower's collapse.

The attack started at 8:46 when five hijackers flew American Airlines Flight 11, with 87 people onboard, into the northern facade of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Seventeen minutes later, at 9:03, another five hijackers flew United Airlines Flight 175, with sixty occupants onboard, into the southern facade of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Thirty-four minutes later, five hijackers flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. at 9:37. Along with the 59 people aboard the flight, 125 people in the Pentagon were killed, 70 civilians and 55 military personnel. A fourth flight, United Airlines Flight 93, was hijacked by four hijackers and flown towards Washington D.C. with the likely intent of hitting either the Capitol or the White House. However, the forty passengers, having found out about the other three plane attacks through phone calls (Flight 93 was delayed and therefore did not take off until nearly all of the other three attacks had taken place), heroically tried to fight back and retake control of the aircraft. Unfortunately, however, the hijackers, realizing they would lose, put the plane into a spin and the aircraft dived into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania with a loss of life of all onboard. This occurred at 10:03 am.

At 9:59, in New York City, after burning for 56 minutes, the South Tower suffered a total collapse with all who still remained inside. At 10:28, after 102 minutes of burning, the North Tower followed its twin in another total collapse. While the main events of 9/11 occurred within those 102 minutes between when the North Tower was first hit and its eventual collapse, the effect of those minutes is still evident in nearly everything America does. The cleanup process of Ground Zero in New York City lasted nearly eight months, in which they recovered only around 1,600 remains, less than a thousand of what the accepted death toll falls to as of today. The Pentagon was repaired within a year. Immediately, defense measures were set up across North America. All flights throughout America and Canada were grounded for over a day, international flights rerouted to either Mexico or Canada, all international flights to America canceled for three days after 9/11. Rumors abounded of other terrorist attacks, which were later proven false, products of mass hysteria. Investigations into the attacks would continue to last for years, and some can argue that they are still ongoing today, while many found a small resolution to the attacks in the death of Osama bin Laden in May of 2011. Economically, Wall Street was closed down until the 17th and saw the largest single day decline of the stock market with 7.1%, which eventually kept dropping to a 14.3% loss, the largest one week drop at the time. The attacks also led to over ten billion dollars of infrastructure and property damage in New York City and in Washington D.C. The attacks also directly led to the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in efforts to route and destroy numerous terrorist organizations rooted in those areas and across the Middle East. These wars are still ongoing today.

As for the firefighters of 9/11, and all who were there, those 102 minutes would also have lasting impacts on their lives, both physical and emotional. Post-traumatic stress disorder was common among victims and first-responders alike. The witnessing and participation in such a traumatic disaster has also lead to other mental disorders like depression, anxiety, and stress. In the wake of the collapses of the towers, huge clouds of dust were shot hundreds of feet in the air and remained for hours. Kicked up in the search and rescue operations later on as well, this mix of pulverized concrete, glass, and other building materials as well as anything that was in the towers when they came down wreaked havoc on the respiratory systems and throats and mouths of rescue workers. The impacts of many of these respiratory diseases, as well as cancer, are only beginning to emerge in their true horror in the last several years. It is reported that nearly 1,500 rescue workers there on 9/11 have died since then. The number of civilians is not any lower. Soon, the number of deaths from the aftermath of 9/11 may outnumber the immediate deaths on that day. Many people gave it their all on 9/11. Many are still giving.

All of the characters in this story are fictional, created out of imagination for the purpose of telling the story of 9/11 with thoughts and dialogue. However, the fictional stories of these characters are rooted in the accounts of real people who were there on that day. Many of those who died had families. According to one study, over 3,000 kids lost a parent to the events of 9/11. For most of them, it started out as a normal workday. And, like the rest of the world, the end of the day would bring the end of an age as the world knew it. Foreign policies were rewritten. Safety standards increased. One era of history ended. A new era began. It is in this era that we live now. While the events of 9/11 are quickly fading into the history books as the first generation of young people enter into society without having lived through 9/11, the sacrifice of all of the men and women, both civilian and rescue personnel cannot be forgotten. In 2006, work on One World Trade Center began next to the empty shells where the Twin Towers once stood. In 2014, this new tower was completed, the tallest tower in the Western Hemisphere, at 1,776 feet high, a deliberate reference to the year the Declaration of Independence was signed. Today, this tower, known better as the Freedom Tower, stands tall above the skyline of New York City as a towering testament that freedom is not free.

Dedicated to all of the innocents who lost their lives on September 11th, 2001.