9/11 Remembered

It goes without saying that 10 years ago today, millions of people's lives were forever changed by the attacks of 9/11.  We can all probably close our eyes and remember where we were when we heard the news.  It will be an image that sticks with me forever.  The days and weeks following the attacks are so vivid in my mind.

I remember that for days after the attacks, the news stations scrolled names at the bottom of the screen of those lost in the attacks.  I remember staring at the scrolling names as I ate lunch each day just reflecting on the magnitude of each name that ticked by.  To me it was just a name that scrolled by - someone I didn't know and had never met.  To someone else though - that name that ticked by represented a person who was their world, their everything.

A tribute to those that lost their life in the 9/11 attacks

As I reflect on those names, I realize that those names scrolled across the screen were not the only ones that were affected by 9/11.  Including those that died in the attacks, this is just a small list of those affected by the terrorism on 9/11:

* The 2,823 people killed in the World Trade Center attacks (including firefighters, police officers, and first responders).
* The 189 men and women that died in the Pentagon attack
* The 45 people aboard Flight 93 that fatally crashed into a field in Pennsylvania
* The 1700+ husbands and wives who lost a spouse in the attacks
* The countless brothers and sisters, grandmothers and grandfathers, aunt and uncles and friends that lost a loved one
* The over 3,000 children who lost a parent
* The 1,300 children orphaned because of the attacks
* The 17 babies born to women whose husbands died in the 9/11 attacks who will never know their father
* The nearly 422,000 New Yorkers (and many more from the other attacks)  who are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of the attacks.
* The 10,000 NYC school children suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
* The ones who took their own lives (suicide) as a result of the trauma of 9/11
* The hundreds, even thousands, of workers suffering from illnesses and cancer as a result of what they inhaled during cleanup from the attacks for 200+ days.
* The estimated 200 men and women who looked out of their skyscraper window of a burning building and felt that the best option for survival was for them to jump
* The thousands of brave men and women who died fighting for our freedom during the war on terrorism - along with their friends and families
* The unknown number of innocent civilians killed in war-related actions while the US was and is fighting the war on terrorism

The list could go on and on... one could never truly document all the people that have been directly (and indirectly) affected by the attacks of 9/11.

Do you remember these iconic images?

I will forever remember the attacks of 9/11 and those that lost their lives.  My heart goes out to them and their loved ones. May we never forget them and the actions of our nation that united together to rebuild ourselves stronger. God Bless America!