09/11/2026
Terrorism against our nation will not stand.
8:46 AM — Flight 11 strikes the North Tower.
9:03 AM — Flight 175 strikes the South Tower.
9:37 AM — Flight 77 strikes the Pentagon. 9:59 AM - South Tower collapses
10:03 AM — Flight 93 crashes near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew fight back.
10:28 AM — The North Tower collapses.
Before 8:00 CST that morning, I was leaving my home in Auburn, Alabama, headed to Dr. Dunn’s Principles of Accounting class. As I approached the intersection of East University Drive and Shelton Mill Road, the radio announced that a plane had struck the World Trade Center in New York.
Like so many people, I thought how terrible—and what a freak accident it must have been for a pilot to get so far off course. I assumed it was a small private plane.
I put a CD in and listened to music the rest of the way to school, not knowing those were among the last few minutes of innocence for our country.
When I arrived at class, we were sent home. I returned to a living room full of friends and housemates watching the horrifying replay of the second plane hitting the South Tower.
It is hard to believe that 25 years have passed.
For those of us who remember September 11, we remember where we were. We remember how the day felt—the shock, the sadness for the lives lost, and the uncertainty and fear of what might come next.
Today, we remember and mourn the nearly 3,000 innocent lives taken that day. We honor the firefighters, police officers, EMTs, military personnel and civilians who ran toward danger while others were running away.
We remember the courage of the passengers and crew of Flight 93 who fought back. And we give thanks to the generations of men and women who served in the years that followed, carrying the burden of defending our country and our freedoms.
September 11 changed America in an instant.
Twenty-five years later, we remember.
We mourn.
We honor.
And we will never forget.
God Bless America. 🇺🇸
