25 years ago, on September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked the United States via four hijacked airplanes destined for New York and Washington, D.C., killing 2,977 people and leaving thousands more with lasting physical and mental scars. The United States immediately went to war in Afghanistan, then Iraq, in the name of fighting terrorism. The […]
United States
25 Years Since September 11: Staff Stories: Rep. John Tierney, 49, Washington, D.C.
I was in the Capitol for some reason. I’m not sure if it was a vote or a meeting, and I returned to my office in the Cannon building, and as I came in my office manager came rushing over and said, “We’d better turn the TV on. A plane just went into the twin […]
25 Years Since September 11: Staff Stories: Emma Sandifer, 3, Atlanta, Georgia
On September 11, 2001, I was three years old, in a kindergarten in Atlanta, Georgia. The school closed at lunchtime with many of the children’s parents being evacuated employees from the nearby Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. My family went home and watched the news like many others. But I don’t remember any of this. I don’t remember […]
25 Years Since September 11: Staff Stories: Connor Murray, 7, Vienna, Austria
On the morning of September 11, 2001, I walked to my elementary school in Vienna, Austria, like most other school days; accompanied by my father, Director of the University of Illinois’s Austria-Illinois Exchange Program, and my neighbors/closest friends. I was in 2nd grade. After school, I knew I was in for a treat as I […]
25 Years Since September 11: Staff Stories: Cameron Lopez, 11, Reston, Virginia
On the morning of September 11, 2001, I walked into my 6th-grade classroom at 9:00 AM to find our teacher glued to the television, silently watching as black smoke billowed from the World Trade Center. Instead of her usual warm welcome, Ms. DeLaVerne stoically instructed us to “take our seats.” As an 11-year-old, my thoughts were simple […]
