United States Commemorates 25th Anniversary of 9/11 Terrorist Attacks: The Deadliest Terror Attack on US Soil

Voice of America Mandarin publishes a video: The United States commemorates the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks: The deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil Video link: Full text: A single bell tolled in lower Manhattan, calling the nation to observe a moment of silence. This was the first of six key moments commemorated annually since September 11, 2001. Twenty-five years ago that day, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners and turned them into weapons, causing nearly 3,000 deaths. The first bell rang at 8:46 AM, the moment American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York, killing all 92 people on board and hundreds of others inside the North Tower. Seventeen minutes later, at 9:03 AM, United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower, killing everyone on board and hundreds more inside the building. It is hard, it is really hard as a mother. This feeling never changes, it feels just like it happened yesterday. At 9:37 AM, 51 minutes after the first plane struck the World Trade Center, the hijackers piloted American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon near the U.S. capital. My son called me from school and said, Mom, you have to come home right now, I am so scared, what is happening? That was truly terrifying. The Pentagon Memorial now honors Flight 77 and the 184 people killed on the ground. The name of every victim is inscribed on a memorial bench, and the orientation of these benches was specially designed so that when visitors look up from a victim's name, their gaze points either toward the sky, the direction from which the plane flew, or toward the Pentagon, where the other victims perished. At 9:59 AM, the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed. Massive clouds of dust and debris swept through lower Manhattan, killing thousands of people in and around the buildings. At 10:03 AM, United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Passengers had already learned that other hijacked planes had struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Among them was Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas, who was pregnant with her first child and left this voicemail for her husband Jack from the plane: Honey, are you there? Jack, pick up the phone, honey. Okay, I just want to tell you I love you, we are having a little trouble on the plane, I am totally fine right now, I just want to tell you I love you more than anything, you need to know that, I am not feeling sick, I am okay right now, currently okay, just having a little trouble, I love you, please tell my family I love them too, bye. Shortly afterward, passengers fought back against the hijackers, trying to regain control of the plane. Their efforts prevented Flight 93 from reaching its intended target, which was likely Washington, and everyone on board was killed. This is the last place he was alive, and every time I come here, I feel a sense of peace. The sixth and final bell tolled at 10:28 AM, the moment the World Trade Center North Tower collapsed. In less than two hours, the attacks claimed 2,977 lives, including 265 passengers and crew members on the four planes and 2,712 people on the ground. In the days that followed, a grieving nation united to show extraordinary solidarity. This year, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum added a seventh moment of silence to mourn those who have died over the years since the attacks from 9/11-related illnesses and injuries, and the seventh bell will pay tribute to their contributions and sacrifice. Reporting from Washington, Voice of America.