Today marks 25 years since the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks – a day that left a profound and lasting impact on global history and reshaped the lives of anyone that lived through it.
I remember that day vividly.
I was in my first year at a university based in downtown Toronto. It was only the 2nd week of school in, so that back to school, new year vibe was still very much in the air.
I had just finished a class and was making my way to the student lounge – completely oblivious to the mayhem that had just occurred less than 30 minutes ago.
Keep in mind, 2001 was pre-smart phone era so there was no concept of getting alerts on your phone. I was carrying around a good ole Nokia brick at the time.
Anyways, as I approached the student lounge, I noticed a small crowd had formed outside the doors.
There was literally no room inside.
Confused, I started wondering what was going on.
Standing on my tip-toes, I peered to see what all the commotion was about. It was then that I could see that everyone’s eyes were fixated on the two small TV screens that were hanging from the ceiling inside the lounge.
I couldn’t quite see the screen (that’s how crowded it was), so I asked someone what was going on and they were like “Two planes just crashed into the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center!”
I was just dumbfounded. What?
And then we’d find out that two more hi-jacked planes had crashed – one in Pennsylvania and another into the Pentagon near Washington, DC.
The rest of that day was a bit of a blur.
Classes were cancelled for the rest of the day and everyone was sent home.
Toronto’s flagship subway station – Union Station – was a complete shit-show as thousands of people were scrambling to get out of the downtown core. The disaster that had just occurred was not all that far from us, after all, so a deep-seeded sense of fear echoed throughout the station as people sat there in disbelief and anguish trying to make sense of what had just happened.
At that time, traditional newspapers were still a regular source for communication, and I remember that day was one of the rare times that the local newspaper, The Toronto Star, released a second edition of that day’s paper.
The original September 11, 2001 edition of the paper was released early that morning and started out like any other day.
Here is an image of the original front page:
By that afternoon, The Toronto Star had a released a special Extra edition free for anyone to take. In bold headlines, the front page detailed initial accounts of the horrific attacks that had just occurred hours before.
Let’s take a moment to appreciate the level of pressure the news rooms had to have been under that day: AI tools were not even in our vocabulary at the time, so I am certain that having to a write articulate copy about something so catastrophic, and publish it pretty much immediately was no small feat.
September 11th 2001 was undoubtedly one of the darkest days of modern times. Almost 3000 lives were lost on the day of, with countless more lives lost over the years from illnesses related to the aftermath of the tragedy.
A Day to Also Remember the Heroes
However, this is also a day to honor the heroic efforts of all of the first responders who gave their lives to save others.
Amid the tragedy and chaos, firefighters, police officers, emergency medical personnel, and countless rescue workers demonstrated extraordinary courage as they ran toward danger in an unwavering commitment to save as many lives as possible.
With it being 25 years since September 11th 2001, we now have a generation of young adults who were either just babies at the time or weren’t born yet.
Within this generation are those children who had a parent or loved one perish in the attacks. Many were too young at the time to fully grasp the gravity of the tragedy, yet its lasting impact shaped every aspect of their upbringing.
An article from the New York Times published on September 10th, shared the story of a man named Jacob Campbell who lost his mother in the attacks when he was just 10 months old. He went on to be raised by his grandparents but faced personal struggles growing up as a result of being haunted by the attacks throughout his upbringing.
But as Jacob reiterates in the article, the immense love and care he received from his grandparents had a huge impact on helping to turn things around and bring him out of a really dark place:
“There are people out there who are in the midst of tragedy, and are helped. There is love in the world in equal measure to the suffering.” – Jacob Campbell
Heartfelt words that illustrate how much goodness there is to give in the midst of all the grief and heartbreak.
There is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
I encourage you to read the entire article. It’s a heart-warming yet bittersweet account of Jacob’s life in the years since the attacks.
As we know, there have been countless other stories similar to Jacob’s that have been told from various perspectives through the numerous documentaries that have been released in the years since 9/11.
Another notable one is the poignant last voicemail a husband left his wife while he was aboard one of the ill-fated flights.
Each story, each point of view, is a thread that has helped weave together this enormous community of people forever bound together by this tragedy. It reminds us that the legacy of 9/11 is not only measured in the lives that were lost, but also in the lives forever changed for those directly affected by it.
As we reflect on 9/11, 25 years later, an important reminder for us to carry forward is that even in our darkest moments, our ability to love, support, heal, and stand together prevails.
God Bless.
