By Ryan Allen Wight, Copy Editor
On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda launched a four-pronged terrorist assault on the United States. Two hijacked planes, Flights 11 and 175, crashed into the World Trade Center’s North and South Towers, respectively. This killed 2,606 people in the two buildings and on the ground.
Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, killing 125 people inside.
Flight 93 headed toward Washington, D.C., but its passengers retaliated and caused the plane to crash in a field in Pennsylvania.
There were 246 passengers on those planes, and all of them were killed.
Saturday, September 11 marks the twentieth anniversary of the attacks. Strangely, 9/11 set the stage for my birth and the birth of my peers. What are we to do with a tragedy we did not experience and the burden it left for which we did not ask?
I wonder why we say “Never Forget.” I wonder why we visit graves and leave flowers, why we honor memories with words and anniversaries and carry on legacies.
Tragedy will always remind of what is dear and important. If my generation must take responsibility for this century, it behooves us to recall what in centuries past has been sacrificed, lost, and ruined.
So, never forget. Never forget all the ordinary Americans who went to work that morning and never came home. The innocents who were made to suffer into death. Never forget the first responders, the firemen and police officers whose courage was demanded.
Never forget the passengers on Flight 93 who fought back and saved the lives of people on the ground; they are heroes. Never forget those who died in bravery, duty, and desperation, for they were loved and they are loved still and missed.
Take a moment and remember. Remember, then keep living. Live with courage and integrity, and do so unremittingly.
