On this day in 2011, al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger liners, two of which were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.
The attacks claimed the lives of 2,977 people as well as the 19 hijackers, and injured more than 6,000. Among the dead were 343 firefighters and 72 law enforcement officers, who braved the wreckage of the World Trade Center to try to rescue those trapped inside.
Below are some of the most memorable quotes that capture the array of emotions that day and in its aftermath.
If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate.
– Sandy Dahl, wife of pilot of Flight 93 Jason Dahl
Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward and freedom will be defended.
– President George W. Bush
Remember the hours after September 11th when we came together as one to answer the attack against our homeland. We drew strength when our firefighters ran upstairs and risked their lives so that others might live; when rescuers rushed into smoke and fire at the Pentagon; when the men and women of Flight 93 sacrificed themselves to save our nation’s Capitol; when flags were hanging from front porches all across America, and strangers became friends. It was the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in all of us.
– Senator John Kerry
My father was the best person I have ever known and though he was taken from me on that day, nothing and no one will ever be able to take way the eight years and two days of my life that I shared with him. After my father died, and after I lost so much, I promised myself that I would never lose who I am as a person – the person that my father brought me up to be. … If you owe someone an apology, tell them you are sorry today. If someone asks for your forgiveness, forgive them. Start being the person you always wanted to be today and don’t waste your time worrying about tomorrow.
– Mary Kate McErlean, whose father was killed on 9/11 when she was 8 years old.
Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, is a way to honor those we lost, a way to reclaim that spirit of unity that followed 9/11.
– President Obama in a 2011 radio address.