by Dean King
Welles and everyone at the fire command desk heard a loud noise, then the building started to collapse. In just a few seconds, the men were blown out of the tower and up against the wall of 4 WTC. They died instantly. The ambulance carrying Young, Wein and the woman suffering from asthma would have been buried had the vehicle not pulled out. Welles died in the collapse, but many will remember his heroic deed on that day.
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On September 11, many others became heroes in their own way. These pages will not be enough to tell of how they helped others to evacuate the buildings, and the words will not suffice to show how they risked their lives to save others. The people who lost their lives on September 11 were real, they had families, jobs, friends…The fallen firefighters, the police officers and other personnel who perished in the line of duty, and the civilians who were not even trained in the rudiments of emergency response… All the people who helped in the search, rescue and recovery missions for the months to follow, sometimes working on hours on end, hoping to find human remains… These are the real heroes.
Chapter 8 – Casualties, Damages And Aftereffects
A broken building can be rebuilt. It may take time, but even a tower burned to the ground can be erected again. Cars that exploded can be replaced. It may take time to earn, but eventually you can get a replacement. Airplanes that exploded cannot be salvaged, but you can expect manufacturers to create more. But lives lost? No matter what you do, or even how long it takes, you cannot bring back the dead to life. And this is the most heartbreaking fact.
Death
Too many lives were lost on September 11 alone. These were innocent people who had no idea that it would be the last day of their lives. They woke up to a beautiful day, went to work, and never even got around to saying goodbye to their loved ones.
Between 16,400 and 18,800 civilians were in the WTC on September 11. There were a total of 2,977 deaths, excluding the 19 hijackers. Of these, 246 died aboard the four planes, 2,606 died in the towers and on the ground, and another 125 at the Pentagon. The majority of deaths were civilians; 55 were military personnel at the Pentagon.
About 90% of those who died in the towers were at or above the point of impact. In the North Tower, more than half of all casualties died of smoke inhalation, died from the buildings’ collapse, or fell or jumped from the tower. More than 100 people below the point of impact also died.
In the South Tower, there were 630 deaths, less than those in the North Tower. This can be attributed to the initiatives of certain people to evacuate people as soon as the first plane hit the North Tower.
About 200 people fell or jumped to their deaths from the towers. There were also 411 emergency workers who died rescuing people and fighting fires: 341 FDNY firefighters and two FDNY paramedics; 23 NYPD officers; 37 PAPD officers; 8 EMTs and paramedics from private emergency medical services.
Cantor Fitzgerald L.P., whose offices were located on the 101 st to 105th floors of the North Tower, lost 658 employees. Marsh Inc., which occupied floors 93-100, lost 358 employees. Aon Corporation lost 175 employees. All in all, the death toll was estimated to be around 6,000.
Structural Damage
Both the North Tower and the South Towers collapsed as the impact of the planes hitting them and the subsequent fires that compromised their structures. Other studies mentioned that the jet fuel melted the steel of the structure.
Subsequent investigations found out that the impact of the planes hitting the towers damaged less than 15% of the perimeter columns in the towers. The damage was more pronounced in the North Tower, considering that the plane drove into the building head on while the second plane hit the corner of the South Tower.
Particularly, the impact in the North Tower caused damage from 31 to 36 of the 240 perimeter columns and several core columns. In the South Tower, the impact damaged about 23 of the 240 perimeter columns and a few core columns. There was only minimal structural damage to the South Tower.
7 WTC was 47-story high with steel frames, and it also collapsed on September 11. While many attributed its collapse to fire that compromised its structure, some actually proposed that the collapse was a result of a controlled demolition.
Pentagon also suffered significant damage and collapse to a portion of the west block. The aircraft penetrated the outer wall of ring E in addition to penetrating the five separate inner walls. The B ring between the 4th and 5th corridors was the most heavily damaged.
Sense of Vulnerability and Fear
Perhaps, more serious than the structural damages caused by the striking of the buildings in question was the sense of fear and vulnerability that the bombings left among the Americans. Americans had been used to ignoring routine issues of safety and security. Many realized that a powerful country like the United States is not immune to attacks and bombings.
It is true that the military can protect itself, but it cannot protect the American population from surprise attacks. The bombings have made us aware of the consequences inflicted to ill-prepared societies. We heard about the rumors of other possible attacks, and you can just imagine how the survivors must have felt.
Economic Impact
As a result of the September 11 bombings, the stock exchanges closed until September 17. When they reopened, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 684 points to 8921. Before the week ended, the DJIA dropped to 1,369.7 points. This was said to be the largest drop in history during this time. In addition, the US stocks lost a staggering $1.4 trillion in valuation for the week.
In New York alone, $2.8 billion worth of wages were lost in the three months following the attacks. New York City’s GDP also declined for the last three months of 2001 and the rest of 2002. The American government had to provide more than $11 billion in assistance to New York City in September 2001, and another $10.5 billion in the first half of 2002.
There were also lost jobs and wages as small businesses in Lower Manhattan near Ground Zero were displaced or destroyed. Office space was also damaged or destroyed. Aside from these businesses, air travel was controlled as a result of the hijackings. Air space was closed for days following the bombings. When it reopened, it was not as robust as before the attacks. The struggling US airline industry had more problems than it could handle.
Health Effects
Many of those who took part in the search and rescue mission following the towers’ collapse suffered health effects. Toxic debris had more than 2,500 contaminants including carcinogens. Some of the search and rescue workers suffered from illnesses that were linked to their exposure to the carcinogens.
Residents and office workers at Lower Manhattan also experienced health effects. Several deaths were reported, some of which were linked to toxic dust. It was estimated that about 18,000 people developed illnesses linked to toxic dust. Also, the majority of rescue workers who participated in a study to determine the health effects of toxic dust were found to have impaired lung functions.
Chapter 9 - Who Was Responsible?
Even before the 9/11 attacks, Al Qaeda had been behind all forms of bombings in several countries that resulted to deaths, injuries and properties lost. The organization was notorious and was known for its terrorist attacks. Al Qaeda was soon identified as being responsible for the 9/11 incidents, its members being hunted down by the American military.
Al Qaeda
Al Qaeda is an international terrorist organization that is considered to be the primary terrorist threat to the United States. Osama bin Laden founded it in the late 1980s. One of its purposes was to rid Muslim countries of the influence of the West and replace their governments with Islamic regimes. The organization was wanted for the 9/11 attacks, and the United States has since launched a war in Afghanistan to destroy Al Qaeda’s base and overthrow the Taliban. Taliban was a group of Afghanistan’s Muslim fundamentalist rulers who harbored bin Laden and his followers.
Al Qaeda operated in many countries. It had worked along the Afghan border and inside Pakistani cities. It was k
nown for introducing the practice of suicide bombings to the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban and to all its affiliated groups in other countries. It is connected to the following terrorist organizations, among others:
• Egyptian Islamic Jihad
• Armed Islamic Group
• Abu Sayyaf Group
• Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Osama bin Laden
He was born Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden on March 10, 1957 in Riyadh to a billionaire Saudi businessman. He had later inherited about $25-30 million of the family wealth. He had six wives and between 20-26 children. He joined the fight against the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan which lasted from 1979 to 1988. Bin Laden was Al Qaeda’s leader. Many believed that he himself trained most of the terrorist groups in Pakistan.
In 1989, bin Laden left Pakistan for Saudi Arabia. A year later, he and other Arab veterans of the war in Afghanistan approached Saddam Hussein to form an army of Islamic militants to protect the country. Hussein refused, and bin Laden turned to reforming his country. In 1991, he fled to Sudan and remained there until 1996.
Bin Laden was driven by his belief that the US foreign policy had killed and oppressed Muslims in the Middle East. He had this firm belief that Afghanistan was the only true Muslim country in the Muslim world, and that violent jihad was needed to set right the injustices against Muslims committed by the United States and other counties. It was also no secret that he wanted to eliminate the state of Israel and for the US to withdraw from the Middle East.
In 1996, Bin Laden declared war against the United States. Bin Laden continued to raise money from donors in support of training camps for fighters. He specifically took over the Ariana Afghan Airlines which carried Islamic militants, money, opium and arms through the UAE and Pakistan. In 1992, bin Laden carried out the first bombing attack in Aden that resulted to the death of two people. Bin Laden continued to provide financial support to the jihadis. He was behind the Luxor massacre, and another that led to the death of between 5000-6000 Hazaras.
In 1998, he signed a fatwa declaring that it is every Muslim’s duty to kill North Americans and their allies. Soon many bombings in different countries followed, an indication of the power of Al Qaeda and its leaders.
Bin Laden had denied any involvement in the September 11 attacks at first, but he later claimed responsibility for the hijackings and attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon. In return, the United States launched an all-out war against Al Qaeda. In 2004, in one of his videos, bin Laden stated that he personally directed the 19 hijackers, adding that the then President Bush was negligent on the hijacking of the planes.
Bin Laden’s death came as a victory for Americans. The notorious terrorist was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011 by a US special forces military unit. The operation was ordered by President Barack Obama. The operation was carried out by the Navy SEALs and CIA. They raided bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan, after which they took bin Laden’s body to Afghanistan and buried it at sea shortly after.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
Mohammed was Al Qaeda’s head of media committee and the architect of the
9/11 attacks. His hatred for the Americans was a result of US’ ties with Israel. In
2002, he admitted his involvement in the 9/11 bombings.
Subsequent investigations led to the discovery that Mohammed was an adviser and financier of the 1993 bombing of the WTC. He was also the uncle of Ramzi Yousef who plotted the assassination of Pope John Paul II and the bombings of several airlines which was called the Bojinka Plot. Mohammed was arrested in Pakistan on March 1, 2003, and was transported to Guantanamo Bay. The CIA waterboarded him 183 times. Waterboarding is a technique wherein water is poured over the face of a captive, giving him the idea that he was drowning. After being waterboarded, Mohammed claimed responsibility for the attacks on September 11.
Chapter 10 – A New Day For America
It has already been many years since the WTC and the Pentagon bombings. It took about eight months to clear the Ground Zero of rubble, debris and human remains. The families of victims of the hijackings and of those who died in the buildings and on the streets have commemorated their fallen loved ones time and again. And the fallen firefighters and officers who died in the line of duty were honored.
For most of them, the year that have passed have not been enough to forget. Some have found it hard to cope, and some resorted to the unthinkable to escape the nightmares and bad memories. The past years were tough.
But slowly, America is starting to recover. There is still hope. The families have come to accept that they will no longer see their loved ones but that they will always be in their hearts. The heroes continued with their daily lives, but this time, appreciating their lives and helping those who faced the tough times. 9/11 was not the end. It was only the beginning.
Computer rendering of a new WTC tower
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 – A Nightmare In The Daylight Chapter 2 - A Timeline of Terrorist Attacks Before 9/11 Chapter 3 – Refining The Plot Details Early Warnings Planning The Attacks And Training Of Hijackers Chapter 4 – The Looming Danger Coordinated Suicide Attacks Targets of Attacks Hijackers and the Planes Chapter 5 - The Collapse Of the Twin Towers American Airlines Flight 11 American Airlines Flight 77 United Airlines Flight 93 United Airlines Flight 175 Chapter 6 – Rescue and Recovery Efforts Port Authority Police Department (PAPD) New York Police Department (NYPD) The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and Interagency Preparedness Rescue Operations Rescue in the North Tower Rescue in the South Tower The Collapse of South Tower The Collapse of North Tower The Pentagon Search, Rescue and Recovery After 9/11 Chapter 7 – The Heroes Of 9/11 Captain Anthony Whitaker Sergeant Alan DeVona Rick Rescorla Captain Jay Jonas Betty Ong Amy Sweeney Welles Crowther Chap
Chapter 2 - A Timeline of Terrorist Attacks Before 9/11
Chapter 3 – Refining The Plot Details
Chapter 4 - The Looming Danger
Chapter 5 - The Collapse Of the Twin Towers
Chapter 6 – Rescue and Recovery Efforts
Chapter 7 – The Heroes Of 9/11
Chapter 8 – Casualties, Damages And Aftereffects
Chapter 9 - Who Was Responsible?
Chapter 10 – A New Day For America
