First, here are some statistics relating to 9-11 and the events of that day: (source:  Mail on Sunday supplement, 03/09/06)

1.  The World Trade Centre took 6 years and 8 months to build

2.  It took 1 hour and 42 minutes to destroy both buildings

3.  The impact of the North Tower collapse registered 2.9 on the Richter Scale

4.  The planes were travelling at 475 mph and 595 mph when they hit the towers

5.  There were 19 hijackers in total

6.  The death toll was as follows.

2973 innocent citizens in the towers

343 fire-fighters

60 policemen

37 Port Authority Police

23 members of the NYPD

10 bystanders

7.  The following personal items were recovered:

144 wedding rings

437 watches

77 necklaces

119 earrings

80 bracelets

8.  The total number of vehicles crushed by the towers collapse was 1350.

9.  It took 3.1 million hours of time to clear the site

10.  The total number of nationalities killed was 26

11.  Around 25,000 people were escorted to safety from the buildings.

For more information about 9-11 and pictures / videos, click here.

 

My own memories are below. 

I watched the events unfold on TV over here in the UK.  It happened in the early afternoon here and I was alerted to it through an email from a friend in Virginia who told me initially that a small plane had crashed into one of the Twin Towers.  It turned out to be immeasurably worse than that.  I remember sitting there in total disbelief watching what was happening, and it occurred to me that the world at that very moment was changing.  I think that just about every major TV channel in the UK covered the events live, and for many days after all sporting events here had a one-minute silence for those who died. 9-11 is particularly poignant for me because it ruined a relationship with the friend from Virginia that I mentioned above.  We were intending to meet around that time.  But in the end it didn't happen, she went on to meet someone else, and the rest is history, as they say. That's just my personal remembrance, though.  A very minor occurrence compared with the loss of life and tragedy that happened on that day. As for 7-7, I was at work and we got a flurry of emails from management advising us of what had happened.  I was with an overseas colleague who had to fly back home that evening, and she was worried about whether she would make it.  She did, which is more than can be said for those poor souls who perished that day.  Or on September 11th 2001.

From Lesia Donalson

The Faces of September Shock and disbelief on the faces of September, Dust streaked with tears in the fire's glowing ember, Red, white and blue proudly raised, bravely waving By faces stark, determined, resolution never caving. Haunted eyes and grieving on the faces of September, A need for understanding, grim promise to remember. Working without ceasing, burning fires and roaring, Ravaged, savaged, trembling, then a nation's love outpouring. Now a loss of innocence with this coming of an age, A tear stained entry on this new history page. Anger, pain and anguish on the visage of September, Hope battles fear with no quarter or surrender. Numbness slowly passing with the hours then the days, A search for meaning gleans a hint of truth through the haze. God, country, family, home, emotions that still render Dreams of peace and freedom on the faces of September. Lesia Moore Donalson

From Connie Cooper, NC, USA

While I was getting ready for work, on what was expected to be just another typical day of the week, I turned on my television. I was just in time to see a plane crash into one of the Twin Towers. At first, I didn't believe that what I was seeing was for real! Standing there, I thought that I was viewing some sort of bad reality movie. When I realized that the disturbing, graphic images in front of me were real events, I just sat down in disbelief and shock. I vividly remember hearing the utter horror in the announcer's voice as he described what was happening.  The day quickly became anything but ordinary, though I didn't realize how very tragic it all was until later on. I continued to watch, or listen to, the news whenever I could. Stories of those who were trapped and calling for help with their cell phones were heartbreaking. Images of survivors being rescued brought hope, while the images of the rescuers themselves becoming victims brought despair to everyone watching. What I remember most about the tragic events that took place on September 11, 2001, is that they took myself, and everyone else, completely by surprise. Those events turned what started out as just another ordinary day, into a day that would be forever remembered by the whole world.

From Heather Niemiec, MI, USA

At the time 9/11 happened, I was at work caring for a guy that was injured on the job.  I heard about it from his wife when she came home from work.  My first reaction was that I couldn't believe it until I saw it on television.  Besides seeing the plane crash, I remember seeing people jumping out of the building.  I remember it taking a while to grasp onto everything that happened.  I remember the sounds of the sirens and the blindness of the black cloud.  I remember seeing and hearing someone who just entered a building before the black cloud past by destroying everything in it's path.   Apartments that people lived in by the Twin Towers were destroyed where nothing could be saved.    What scares me the most is how this split second that changed peoples lives forever was perfectly planned.  It doesn't matter how many times I see the Twin Towers helplessly falling to the ground, I'm still shocked that it happened.  I felt so helpless.   I write at this moment to remember all the people that past away along with their family, friends and animals that were part of their lives.    I write at this moment to remember how people came together from all over to help save and treat people.   At this moment I write to remember the dogs that worked just as hard as people did to save people.  They are proof that animals are just as intelligent as people.  To be able to find helpless trapped people when people couldn't find them is amazing to me.  The dogs didn't even think twice about getting their paws cut up when finding people.  Another thought is that the dogs helped with emotional support.  Dogs are really men's and women's best friends.