Freedom Still Rings

                                                     Freedom Still Rings

September 11. Patriot's Day. National Day of Service and Remembrance. While we remember the tragedy and loss of this day - we also remember the selflessness and 
heroism.  Firefighters and first responders rushed into the Twin Towers in New York City to find survivors while those who could, rushed out. 

The search and rescue work that took place immediately after the collapse of the World Trade Center included ironworkers, structural engineers, heavy machinery operators, asbestos workers, boilermakers, carpenters, cement masons, construction managers, electricians, insulation workers, machinists, plumbers, and   pipefitters, riggers, sheet metal workers, steelworkers, truckers and teamsters,  American Red Cross volunteers, and many others.

#2
On United Airlines Flight 93 seven crewmembers and thirty three passengers left Newark, New Jersey at 8:42 a.m. on the non-stop flight headed for San Francisco. The passengers also included four hijackers. After taking control of the plane, one of the hijackers used the plane’s intercom to communicate to the passengers that there was a bomb on board and they should stay seated. When the passengers realized what was happening, there was a brief discussion, a vote and the passengers and crew members decided to fight back. The efforts of the passengers and crew to regain control of the plane forced the hijackers to crash the plane into an empty field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. 

It is surmised that the target of the plane’s hijackers was the White House or the Capitol, but their goal was never accomplished. These people were not law enforcement or military personnel. They were ordinary citizens.

#3

The construction of the original United States Pentagon began on September 11, 1941.  On September 11, 2001, the Pentagon was hit by one of the four planes hijacked by Al Qaeda militants. American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the western side of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., killing 59 aboard the plane and 125 military and civilian personnel inside the building.

Most Americans are aware of the courage and heroism of the firefighters and first responders in all three sights of the September 11 events. The three sites, New York City; Shanksville, Pennsylvania; and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., comprised the deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement officers in the history of the United States. 343 firefighters and 72 law enforcement officers died in the September 11 attacks. But there were also, hundreds, and perhaps thousands of ordinary citizens who stepped up in response to the disaster.

In the aftermath of September 11 2,996 people were killed and more than 6,000 others were injured. The immediate deaths included 265 on the four planes, 2,606 in the World Trade Center and in surrounding area, and 125 at the Pentagon.  The attacks of September 11, 2001, were the deadliest terror attack in world history. More than 90 countries lost citizens in the attacks, including the United Kingdom (67 deaths), the Dominican Republic (47 deaths), and India (41 deaths). Three thousand children lost a parent on September 11. 

It is not from a posture of fear and defeat that we look back on September 11, 2001.  We still cannot comprehend the hatred and hopelessness that motivated the heinous aggression. But, caring human beings in response to unimaginable evil, ultimately overcame that hatred with their integrity, courage and compassion. Evil men gave their lives in an attempt to silence the bell that sounds for freedom. Many more gave their lives to ensure that that bell still rings. Freedom still rings. 

"Make no mistake, freedom still rings
In the home of the brave, in the land of the free.
Towers may fall, but our hope still stands.
It beats in our hearts, it's held in our hands.
Oh, say can you see?
Make no mistake, freedom still rings."

Tom Sterbens

http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/the-pentagons-sept-11-first-responders/4/

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/09/11/us/11shanksville-bios.html?_r=0 

http://www.history.com/topics/pentagon

http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-timeline

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_September_11_attacks

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rescue_and_recovery_effort_after_the_September_11_attacks_on_the_World_Trade_Center

http://www.express.co.uk/expressyourself/270365/9-11-I-was-the-last-person-pulled-alive-from-the-rubble-of-the-Twin-Towers

http://nymag.com/news/articles/wtc/1year/numbers.htm