Patriot Day on September 11th honors the memory of the nearly 3,000 innocent victims who died in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Each year Americans dedicate this day to remembering those who died and the first responders who risked their own lives to save others.

We Remember
For many, September 11, 2001, began like any other weekday. We made our way to work. Children attended school. We shopped, had coffee, and waited in line at a drive-thru. Those of us who weren’t in New York City heard the first reports on the radio or television. A friend or neighbor alerted us to a plane flying into one of the Twin Towers. We felt disbelief. An accident, perhaps, a miscalculation. Then, a second plane flew into the second tower. Our disbelief turned into uncertainty and concern.

Those on the ground faced terror and obstacles they had never known. But, then, as a set of coordinated suicide attacks organized by the militant group Al Qaeda targeted the World Trade Center, the rest of the nation witnessed the unbelievable. And then a third plane crashed into The Pentagon. And yet another crashed into a field in Shanksville, PA.

• Observe moments of silence:
  • 8:46 AM EDT – American Airlines Flight #11 collided into the World Trade Center
  • 9:03 AM EDT – United Airlines Flight #175 collided into the World Trade Center South Tower
  • 9:37 AM EDT – American Airlines Flight #77 crashed into the Pentagon
  • 9:59 AM EDT – World Trade Center South Tower Collapsed
  • 10:03 AM EDT – United Airlines Flight #93 crashed in Shanksville, PA
  • 10:28 AM EDT – World Trade Center North Tower Collapsed

I personally will ALWAYS remember.