Left Behind To Carry On

When I look back on the events of September 11, 2001, I find it really hard to believe that it has been 23 years already. So many lives lost…moms and dads, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters. The children born right after losing a parent to the 911 Attacks are grown now. Some may have begun their own families. All of the children who lost loved ones are adults, for whom the ramifications of those attacks are very real. They lost a parent, and some never got to know their parent. Of course, for anyone who lost someone in the attacks, the ramifications are very real. You don’t ever lose a loved one without feeling the immense pain of that loss, and when that loss comes from a brutal and unwarranted attack it especially hard to wrap your head around it. Why?? That is the ultimate question, and in this case the one that was never really answered, except to say that a deranged monster had an “imagined score” to settle.

A total of 2,977 people were killed in New York City, Washington, DC and outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001. Of those, 2,753 were killed at the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. These consisted of victims from hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 both of which were intentionally crashed into the North and South Towers, or as a result of the crashes. Of those who perished during the initial attacks and the subsequent collapses of the Towers, 343 were New York City firefighters, 23 were New York City police officers and 37 were officers at the Port Authority. The victims ranged in age from two to 85 years. Approximately 75-80% of the victims were men. A total of 184 people were killed at the Pentagon in Washington, when hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building. Near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, 40 passengers and crew members aboard United Airlines Flight 93 died when the plane crashed into a field. It is believed that the hijackers crashed the plane in that location, rather than their unknown target, after the passengers and crew attempted to retake control of the flight deck. As of January 18, 2024, 1,650 of 2,753 WTC victims’ remains have been positively identified, according to the medical examiner’s office…which means that the families of 1,103 people have not been able to have closure. Unfortunately, the fact remains that many will never be identified.

One can only hope and pray that these family can find peace. Their loved ones did nothing wrong. They were simply going about their normal day. They had no idea when they woke up that morning, that by the end of the day, their lives would be over, and their families would be thrown into extreme grieving. We must also hope that those of us who are left behind can somehow find a way to be kinder to each other. It is the only way to heal some of the pain people go through in their everyday lives. Today, we remember those we lost on September 11, 2001, and those left behind to carry on.