This weekend the nation mourns the 21st anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the United States.
A date where nearly 3,000 victims died in New York City, the Pentagon, and a fallow field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. However, two decades later the details of the horrific event are being forgotten by many.
People interviewed Saturday by The Dallas Express remember the images of planes flying into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, but memories fog when asked about Shanksville.
“That’s right, a plane did go down there,” said Sandra Morrell when reminded of United Airlines flight 93. “We see so much about the Pentagon and the World Trade buildings, I forgot about that. Those passengers were heroes.”
Yes, the 40 passengers and crew were heroes, fighting the terrorist as the Boeing 757 plummeted to earth.
Andrew Knox remembers watching the events unfold on television, but admits this September 11 was just another Sunday to him. He does not have plans to commemorate the anniversary.
“I went to high school in Boston,” he said. “I kept thinking if I knew anyone who was on the planes.”
Both planes that flew into the World Trade Center took off from Boston’s Logan Airport, American Airlines flight 11 and United flight 175.
However, this September 11 is just another Sunday to him. He explained that he does not have plans to honor the anniversary. With time, comes jobs, family, responsibilities, debts, and life.
“I guess we just are so stretched with obligations, we forget to stop and remember the attack,” he said, pushing a grocery cart through a parking lot.
Knox said, thankfully he did not know anyone on the twin flights from Boston.
The younger generation, those born after the attack, said they have seen the videos of the planes crashing into the towers, but have not learned much in school about it.
Hector Andrada, a high school senior, said students read several paragraphs about the attack in textbooks, and teachers hold short discussions about terrorism and the nation’s response, but it is not studied in-depth.
Another student, LeCrete Fulton said her father told her more about September 11 than her history classes did. Her father, David, was living in the Bronx borough of New York City when the 9/11 attacks happened.
Fulton described to his daughter the chaos, the outpouring of generosity, the actions of New York City’s first responders, and the tongues of fire rolling out from the towers when the planes crashed into the building.
What she recalls most vividly is her father describing the smell of jet fuel burning and people felt so bewildered.
The Pentagon was also hit on September 11. At 9:37 a.m., American Airlines flight 77 flew into the first-floor west wall killing 135 Department of Defense employees and 64 people on the flight.