Twenty-five years ago today, terror rained down on the United States as al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, killing 2,977 people and changing the course of history.
The attacks began at 8:46 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.
At 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower.
American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, at 9:37 a.m.
At 10:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew members fought back against the hijackers. Authorities believe the terrorists intended to strike the U.S. Capitol.
The victims included approximately 2,510 civilians, 55 military personnel killed at the Pentagon and 412 emergency personnel. Among the first responders were 343 New York City firefighters, 37 Port Authority police officers, 23 New York City police officers and nine other emergency responders.
The death toll does not include the 19 hijackers.
The attacks led the United States into what became known as the Global War on Terror. More than 7,000 American military service members died in the resulting wars and counterterrorism operations, primarily in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader who orchestrated the attacks, was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs during a raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2, 2011.
A quarter-century later, Americans continue to honor those who were lost, those who rushed toward danger and who served in the wars that followed. We remember the shock, the fear and the grief and, above all, the courage and unity that emerged on the day America changed forever.
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