Image courtesy of Alex Houmadi on Unsplash.

On September 11th, 2001, four commercial airline aircraft were hijacked and used to attack the Pentagon and the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. 19 members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda planned and carried out the attack on the U.S. that fateful morning.

Two planes were flown into the towers, causing them both to burst into flames and collapse to the ground. Killing 2,977 people in total and injuring 6,000 to 25,000 others, this was the biggest terrorist attack the United States has ever seen in its lifetime. Almost 3,000 children across 27 states lost a parent on 9/11.

According to the FBI investigation, over 400 first responders were lost, 75 U.S Army men and women, and 60 law enforcement officers in the World Trade Center. Both buildings came down within the span of two hours, instantly killing people inside and those closely around the base of the towers.

Not only were the towers affected, but one of the four airplanes flew into the west side of the Pentagon, killing 125 people and injuring 109 others. The last of the four aircraft crash-landed in a field in Pennsylvania, thanks to the retaliation from passengers on board, while on its way to Washington for another potential crash in the White House.

The aftermath following the attacks was serious backlash and hate against South Asian, Islamic, Sikh, and South West Asian people. Because the hijackers were Muslim, American people who were also of this religion were verbally and physically attacked by other American citizens who had very strong beliefs about 9/11.

Hate crimes against this group of people were growing at a rapid rate, and quickly spread around the U.S. Places of Islamic worship were vandalized, attacked, and destroyed all around the states, along with increased violence and cyber threats against Muslim people.

As the years progressed, the hate crime numbers declined, but were never truly erased. Hate crimes like this happen to this day. Even though a group of people happen to be one race or religion, that does NOT mean they are responsible for other people’s actions.

This blue sky morning left more than just a mark in the history books, but a gigantic etching into the hearts of millions, forever changing everyone’s lives around the world. This was a horrific event in time that should never be forgotten, not to be celebrated but commemorated as a reminder of what was lost and who was lost.

Since then, many monuments have been placed to help remember the lives lost and the sacrifices people made to help others during the aftermath of the attack as well as during. The 9/11 museum and memorial in New York, as well as the Pentagon Memorial in Washington D.C., and the Wall of Names in Pennsylvania.

The 9/11 museum is truly an eye opening experience. Every room is full to the brim with things from that day and letters from people who were there.

My favorite part of the entire museum is the wall of blue tiles right in the middle of where the two towers used to stand. Each tile is the shade of blue that a person saw the sky at before the attack. Behind this wall is the family-only section, where the unclaimed human remains of those who passed in the attack are kept. It is not available to the public, but it truly is such a harrowing and beautiful piece of art to see in person.

All of these memorials are truly remarkable and heart breaking all in one, and are definitely worth taking the time to go to at least once in your lifetime.

9/11 will never be, and should never be, a joke. This was a real-life event that killed thousands of Americans and injured thousands more. People’s lives were forever changed since that day, and that is never going to be forgotten.

This is why, as Americans, we take every September 11th as a day to remember, remember those who died, fought, and took acts of heroism.