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

A bell tolls in Lower Manhattan, marking the first of six key moments observed annually since September 11, 2001. On that day 25 years ago, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four airliners and turned them into weapons, killing nearly 3,000 people.
The first bell rang at 8:46 a.m., the moment American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, killing all 92 people on board and hundreds more inside the North Tower.
Seventeen minutes later, at 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower, killing everyone on board and hundreds more inside the building. It’s hard, it’s really hard as a mother. That feeling never goes away, it feels like yesterday. At 9:37 a.m., 51 minutes after the first plane hit the World Trade Center, hijackers flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon near the nation’s capital. My son called me from school and said, Mom, you have to come home now, I’m scared, what’s happening? It was so scary. The Pentagon Memorial now commemorates the 184 people killed on Flight 77 and on the ground. The name of each victim is etched onto a memorial chair, which are oriented so that when visitors look up from the name, they either look toward the sky, the direction the plane came from, or toward the Pentagon, where others died.
At 9:59 a.m., the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed. A massive cloud of dust and debris swept through Lower Manhattan, killing thousands in and around the building. At 10:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Passengers had learned by then that other hijacked planes had hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Among them was Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas, who was pregnant with her first child and left this voice message 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’re having a little trouble on the plane, I’m totally fine, I just want to tell you I love you more than anything, you have to know that, I’m not feeling uncomfortable, I’m okay right now, I’m okay, just a little trouble, I love you, please tell my family I love them too, goodbye.
Shortly after, passengers fought back against the hijackers, attempting to regain control of the plane, their efforts prevented Flight 93 from reaching its intended target, likely Washington, and all on board were killed. This is the last place he ever lived, and I find a sense of peace every time I come here. The sixth and final bell rang at 10:28 a.m., the moment the North Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed. In less than two hours, the attacks killed 2,977 people, 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, showing extraordinary solidarity. This year, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum added a seventh moment of silence to honor those who have died in the years since the attacks from 9/11-related illnesses and injuries. The seventh bell will pay tribute to their service and sacrifice. VOA, Washington.