TAMPA, Fla. — Today, Americans across the nation will take a moment to remember the 2,977 people killed in the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Never forget
On this morning 19 years ago, 19 terrorists hijacked four California-bound commercial airplanes shortly after their departures from airports in Boston, Newark and the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
The planes were flown into the iconic World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon and a field in western Pennsylvania. On that day 2,977 innocent lives were lost.
Whether you were watching the tragic events unfold on TV, were too young to understand at the time or weren't even born yet, that fateful day changed the course of our daily lives forever.
Commemorating 9/11 during the coronavirus pandemic
In a year when the coronavirus pandemic has reshaped countless American rituals, even the commemoration of 9/11 could not escape unchanged.
The 19th anniversary of the terror attacks will be marked by dueling ceremonies at the Sept. 11 memorial plaza and a corner near the World Trade Center, reflecting a divide over the memorial's decision to suspend a cherished tradition of relatives reading victims' names in person.
Relatives of some of the people lost say they understand why the ground zero observance had to change in a year when so much else has. Others fear the pandemic is making plain what they have feared was happening unspoken: that the commitment to “Never Forget” is fading.
Remember their names
The September 11, 2001 terror attacks killed 2,977 people. These are their names. Many more people have died from related causes since.
Today, and every day, we keep them, their families and loved ones in our thoughts.