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| A day of rememberance |
| by Nick Ewen, Editor-in-Chief |
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Twenty-five years ago, aviation — and, quite honestly, the world — changed forever.
As of this morning, it’s been a quarter of a century since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
There were, of course, many who experienced the horror firsthand. Millions more of us witnessed it in real time on TV as the morning went from what we collectively thought was a tragic accident to a realization that something much larger and more sinister was unfolding before our eyes.
9/11 changed many of us as people. And it changed the process of how we live and fly even to this day.
The 25th anniversary of that fateful day is being commemorated this morning with several solemn ceremonies, including at Ground Zero in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
Nearly 3,000 innocent people lost their lives that day in the attacks — mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, friends, neighbors and family members who never made it home.
Alongside that unimaginable loss are stories of heroism, bravery and selflessness. Regular people who were at work, flying across the country or otherwise settling into their ordinary routines — and quickly found themselves in the most extraordinary of circumstances.
From the first responders at the World Trade Center who ran up when others were running down, to the 33 passengers and seven crew members aboard United Flight 93 who made the ultimate sacrifice upon hearing what was unfolding in New York City and Washington, D.C.
These and other heroes rose to the occasion — and set an example for us all to carry on.
As a native New Yorker, I’ve visited the 9/11 Memorial & Museum multiple times since it opened, most recently with my now-11-year-old daughter. I found myself getting choked up as I explained to her the magnitude of the attacks, the stories of survival, the bravery of the fallen and the resilience of New York City.
It struck me that something so vivid as that morning — one that I can remember in minute detail — is a piece of history to her.
She’s just one of millions of Americans who were too young to remember or weren’t even alive on 9/11 — a group that only knows of the attacks from the stories we pass down.
To help preserve these memories for future generations, TPG is donating to The Never Forget Fund today — and we invite you to join us in helping ensure these stories are never forgotten. Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City and current chairman of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, will match up to $25 million in donations in honor of the 25th anniversary.
But above all else, please join us in taking a moment to reflect on the events of that day. Hug your loved ones. Say a prayer for those lives that were cut far too short. And send a heartfelt thank you to everyone who, in the darkest moments of that day, shone brightly for the world to see.
Twenty-five years — and an entire generation — have passed. But we must never forget the stories, the loss and the heroes of 9/11.
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| Photo Credit: JAY LAZARIN/GETTY IMAGES. |
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