The Shocking Events of September 11th

Clare Boone

September 11th, a beautiful, warm day. No one had expected something as terrible as this. Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, two planes smashed into the twin towers, crushing them to pieces.

The Twin Towers

At the same moment another plane went right through the Pentagon in Washington D.C. A big chunk of the Pentagon was damaged.

The Pentagon

That wasn’t all! The fourth plane crashed down in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The plane crashed because

the passengers aboard heard about the attacks and took over the plane from the terrorists. Later we found out that the fourth plane was headed to the White House.

The Fourth Plane

The people that flew the four planes belong to a group called Al-Qaeda (al-ki-da) which is run by Osama Bin Laden . Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda strongly dislike the U.S.

Before 9-11, Bin Laden led Al-Qaeda to bomb the parking garage of the world trade center. Also, Al-Qaeda members set a bomb on the U.S.S. Cole, killing themselves and 17 U.S. sailors.

Osama Bin Laden

Americans went into action immediately. President Bush was quickly taken to safety in Air Force 1. The White House and other tall or government buildings were evacuated.

President Bush also demanded Afghanistan to turn in Bin Laden, but they wouldn’t.

America In Action

For safety all planes were grounded in our country.

The U.S. started sending planes and missiles to hit the enemies in Afghanistan. That didn’t work as well as we had hoped, so we sent U.S. troops to catch the enemies.

At first, Afghanistan still wouldn’t turn in Al-Qaeda and Bin Laden. After bombs and things like that were sent over, some Afghanistan people decided to help us fight.

Afghanistan’s TurnOur soldiers are now helping Afghanistan start a democratic government.

Things have changed since September 11th. Many more guards have been sent to airports and lots of other places. After the attacks people wondered:

Things Have Changed

•Would terrorism change their everyday lives?

• Would America find a way to prevent terrorists from attacking again?

• Would the caution that Americans have ever fade?

•Will America ever go back to how it was before the terrible attacks of September 11th?

I feel that Americans should always stay cautious. You never know when the terrorists will try to strike again. It was very sad what happened on the horrible day of September 11th. Every year, on September 11th, I think everyone should stop what they are doing and think about all of our friends and family we lost on that day.

How I Feel

This slide show is dedicated to the firefighters, police officers, paramedics, clergy, and many others who assisted many people that day.

And in memory of the more than 3,000 people who lost their lives that day.

I located information in the book, America Under Attack by Scott Marquette, which can be found in the Stewartstown Elementary School library.