remembering 911

one of the dreadful and traumatizing events in the history of the world is 911...
it was one of those events that we wanted to erase - for it caused lots of heartaches and anger.
according to wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks):

The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/11^{[nb 1]}) were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks upon the United States in New York City and Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 terrorists from the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger jets.^[2][3] The hijackers intentionally crashed two planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City; both towers collapsed within two hours. Hijackers crashed the third plane into the Pentagonin Arlington, Virginia. The fourth jet, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to take control before it could reach the hijacker's intended target in Washington, D.C. Nearly 3,000 died in the attacks.^[4][5][6]

Suspicion quickly fell on al-Qaeda, and in 2004, the group's leader Osama bin Laden, who had initially denied involvement, claimed responsibility for the attacks.^[1] Al-Qaeda and bin Laden cited U.S. support of Israel, the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq as motives for the attacks. The United States responded to the attacks by launching the War on Terror, invading Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, who had harbored al-Qaeda members. Many countries strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded law enforcement powers. In May 2011, after years at large,bin Laden was found and killed.

The destruction caused serious damage to the economy of Lower Manhattan.^[7] Cleanup of the World Trade Center site was completed in May 2002. TheNational September 11 Memorial & Museum is scheduled to open on September 11, 2011. Adjacent to the memorial the 1,776 feet (541 m) One World Trade Center is estimated for completion by 2013.^[8] The Pentagon was repaired within a year, and the Pentagon Memorial opened, adjacent to the building, in 2008. Ground was broken for the Flight 93 National Memorial in November 2009, and the memorial was formally dedicated on September 10, 2011.^[9][10]

There were a total of 2,996 deaths, including the 19 hijackers and 2,977 victims.^[51] The victims included 246 on the four planes (from which there were no survivors), 2,606 in New York City in the towers and on the ground, and 125 at the Pentagon.^[44][52] All the deaths in the attacks were civilians, except for 55 military personnel killed at the Pentagon.^[53]

Over 90% of the workers and visitors who died in the towers had been at or above the points of impact.^[54] In the North Tower 1,355 people at or above the point of impact were trapped and died of smoke inhalation, fell or jumped from the tower to escape the smoke and flames, or were killed in the building's eventual collapse. A further 107 people below the point of impact did not survive.^[54] In the South Tower, one stairwell remained intact allowing 18 people to escape from above the point of impact.^[55] 630 people died in the South Tower which was fewer than half of the number killed in the North Tower.^[54] Casualties in the South Tower were significantly reduced by the decision of some occupants to start evacuating when the North Tower was struck.^[55]

At least 200 people fell or jumped to their deaths from the burning towers (as depicted in the photograph The Falling Man), landing on the streets and rooftops of adjacent buildings hundreds of feet below.^[56] Some occupants of each tower above the point of impact made their way upward toward the roof in hope of helicopter rescue, but the roof access doors were locked. No plan existed for helicopter rescues, and the thick smoke and intense heat would have prevented helicopters from approaching.^[57]

A total of 411 emergency workers who responded to the scene died as they tried to rescue people and fight fires. The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) lost 341 firefighters and 2 paramedics.^[58]The New York City Police Department (NYPD) lost 23 officers.^[59] The Port Authority Police Department lost 37 officers.^[60] Eight emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics from private emergency medical services units were killed.^[61][62]

The remains of 6 World Trade Center, 7 World Trade Center, and 1 World Trade Center, days after the attacks

Cantor Fitzgerald L.P., an investment bank on the 101st–105th floors of the North Tower, lost 658 employees, considerably more than any other employer.^[63]Marsh Inc., located immediately below Cantor Fitzgerald on floors 93–100, lost 358 employees,^[64][65] and 175 employees of Aon Corporation were also killed.^[66] The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) estimated that about 17,400 civilians were in the World Trade Center complex at the time of the attacks though turnstile counts from the Port Authority suggest 14,154 people were typically in the Twin Towers by 8:45 a.m.^[67][68] The vast majority of people below the impact zone safely evacuated the buildings.^[69]

After New York, New Jersey lost the most state citizens, with the city of Hoboken sustaining the most deaths.^[70] More than 70 countries lost citizens in the attacks on the World Trade Center.^[71] Two people were later added to the official death toll after dying from health conditions linked to exposure to dust from the collapse of the World Trade Center.^[72][73]

Weeks after the attack, the death toll was estimated to be over 6,000, more than twice the number of deaths eventually confirmed.^[74] The city was only able to identify remains for about 1,600 of the World Trade Center victims. The medical examiner's office collected "about 10,000 unidentified bone and tissue fragments that cannot be matched to the list of the dead".^[75] Bone fragments were still being found in 2006 by workers who were preparing to demolish the damaged Deutsche Bank Building. In 2010, a team of anthropologists and archaeologists searched for human remains and personal items at the Fresh Kills Landfill, where seventy-two more human remains were recovered, bringing the total found to 1,845. DNA profiling continues in an attempt to identify additional victims.^[76] As of August 2011, 1,631 victims have been identified, while 1,122 (41%) of the victims remained unidentified.^[77][78] The remains are being held in storage in Memorial Park, outside the New York City Medical Examiner’s facilities. It is expected that the remains will be moved in 2013 to a repository behind a wall at the 9/11 museum. A medical examiner, who will have a workspace at the site, will continue to try to identify remains, in the hope improved technology will allow them to identify other victims.^[78]