Greg Semendinger’s aerial photos still transport him back to that fateful day, twenty-five years after the infamous 9/11, a ted letter day which when the world changed.
As his helicopter got closer, Semendinger could see the giant gash where an airliner had sliced through seven floors near the top of the north tower and black smoke was billowing out.
Detective Semendinger, a New York City police pilot, had been sent to report what was happening at the World Trade Center and see if anyone needed to be rescued from the roof.
He wasn’t an official photographer for the NYPD, but he always carried a camera to document his squad’s rescues and had one in the chopper that morning as an unthinkable horror unfolded before him.
The images he captured over the next 90 minutes were very astonishing.
And as the United States marks 25 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Americans across the country are gathering to honor the nearly 3,000 people who perished and reflect on the day that forever changed the nation.
Loved ones of those killed, survivors, first responders and politicians are attending ceremonies in New York City, at the Pentagon in Virginia, outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and around the country.
Thousands of names are being read out by family members and loved ones, both those who remember the trauma of that day and those who weren’t alive but have grown up with the stories.
A quarter-century has passed since terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners in the deadliest attack on American soil.
Today, almost one in four Americans has no personal memory of that day. Yet, for many others, the tragedy remains etched in their memory. So do its lasting impacts.
The atrocity, which changed the world forever, will remain labelled as one of modern history’s darkest days.
What Really Happened?
On the morning of September 11 2001, Al-Qaida terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger planes in the United States of America.
At 8.46am, American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Less than 20 minutes later at 9.03am, Flight 175 tore through South Tower Two, causing both towers to collapse.
A third plane was crashed into the Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC.
And the fourth plane, Flight 93, crashed in rural Pennsylvania after the crew and passengers overpowered the terrorists on board.
That heroic intervention prevented the aircraft from hitting another intended target, thought to be the Capitol building.
In total, the attacks killed 2,977 people from 90 nations, including 2,753 in New York, 184 at the Pentagon, and 40 on Flight 93.
Yet many more have died from, or are suffering with, health conditions linked to the toxic dust which spilled into the streets of Lower Manhattan.
Memorial services will now be held in New York, London, and at the Pentagon in Virginia.
8:46 a.m. — American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower.9:03 a.m. — United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower.9:37 a.m. — Flight 77 struck the Pentagon.9:59 a.m. — South Tower collapsed.10:03 a.m. — Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania.10:28 a.m. — North Tower collapsed. �911 Memorial +1So, from 8:46 to 10:28 = 102 minutes.However, the deaths did not all occur within those 102 minutes. Many people were killed immediately in the plane impacts and tower collapses, while others died later during the collapse and aftermath. In total, 2,977 people were killed in the attacks (excluding the 19 hijackers).
The 9/11 attacks were carried out by al-Qaeda, the militant Islamist organization led by Osama bin Laden. The 19 hijackers were members or associates of al-Qaeda, and the FBI says bin Laden ultimately acknowledged his role in orchestrating the attacks
U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia: Bin Laden strongly opposed American troops being stationed in Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest sites. �9/11 CommissionU.S. policy in the Middle East: He opposed U.S. support for Israel and American policies toward Muslim-majority countries.Retaliation: Bin Laden portrayed the United States as an aggressor against Muslims and wanted to retaliate through attacks on American targets.Ideological extremism: Al-Qaeda promoted an extremist interpretation of Islam and sought to mobilize Muslims into what it called jihad against the United States and other perceived enemies. �9/11 CommissionStrategic objective: Bin Laden believed a spectacular attack on the United States would draw more recruits, money and supporters to al-Qaeda and increase its influence. �
How The Operation Was Carried Out
The operation was planned over several years, not improvised on September 11. The 19 hijackers were divided into four teams, with one trained pilot assigned to each aircraft. The remaining men were there primarily to overpower passengers and crew and seize the aircraft. The FBI says all 19 had been trained by al-Qaeda. �FBI1. How did they get into the United States?They generally entered legally using U.S. visas, rather than secretly crossing the border.The first began arriving in January 2000, and all 19 were in the United States by early July 2001. Most entered on tourist visas. The 9/11 Commission found that the men entered the U.S. a total of 33 times through 10 airports. �FBI +1This was one of the major failures identified afterward: the immigration and intelligence systems did not connect all the pieces of information that could have raised suspicion about them. The Commission concluded that as many as 15 of the 19 could potentially have been intercepted by border authorities. �9/11 Commission2. How did they learn to fly?The four designated pilots received flight training in the United States.The best-known was Mohamed Atta, who trained extensively and obtained commercial-pilot qualifications. Marwan al-Shehhi, Ziad Jarrah and Hani Hanjour also received flight training. The four pilots had different levels of competence, but they had enough training to take control of the aircraft. �9/11 Commission +1Importantly, they didn’t need to learn how to operate every aspect of a modern airliner like a professional airline crew. Their objective was to take control of the cockpit and then use the aircraft as a weapon.3. What were the other 15 men doing?They were often called the “muscle hijackers.”Their role was to help seize control of the aircraft while the designated pilot took over the cockpit. They had received training from al-Qaeda before entering the United States. The Commission found evidence that they had been trained for the hijacking operation and had practiced aspects of it. �9/11 CommissionThe 19 were then distributed among four flights:American Airlines Flight 11 — 5 hijackersUnited Airlines Flight 175 — 5American Airlines Flight 77 — 5United Airlines Flight 93 — 4All four were long-distance flights, meaning they carried large quantities of fuel and were suitable for the attackers’ intended use. �9/11 Commission4. How did they coordinate the operation?This is perhaps the most remarkable part.Mohamed Atta served as the principal operational coordinator among the hijackers in the United States. The teams were deliberately separated into different locations, mainly around Florida and the New York/New Jersey area. Atta coordinated the arrival and preparations of many of the other hijackers. �9/11 Commission +1They also conducted surveillance and practice flights. For example, several of the future pilots flew across the United States on the same type of aircraft they would eventually hijack, familiarizing themselves with airline operations and routes. �9/11 CommissionBy September 10, the teams were positioned near the airports from which they would depart.5. How did four separate attacks happen almost simultaneously?This was the result of careful scheduling.On the morning of September 11, 2001, the 19 men boarded four different flights departing from Boston, Newark and Washington-area airports. The flights were all headed across the country toward California, meaning they would normally have remained in the air for several hours.The attackers then seized the aircraft after takeoff.The first plane, American Airlines Flight 11, hit the North Tower at 8:46 a.m. The second, United Airlines Flight 175, hit the South Tower at 9:03 a.m. Flight 77 struck the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m., while passengers on Flight 93 eventually fought back, causing it to crash in Pennsylvania at 10:03 a.m. �FBI +1The really important pointThe attack succeeded because it combined long-term planning + international al-Qaeda support + legal entry into the U.S. + flight training + weaknesses in intelligence sharing and airport security.It wasn’t that the 19 men somehow appeared in America and suddenly figured everything out. The operation had been developing since the late 1990s, with Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda leadership supporting it, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed developing the “planes operation,” and Atta coordinating much of the operation on the ground. �9/11 CommissionAnd there was a critical element of luck and security weakness: before 9/11, the United States did not have today’s level of aviation security or intelligence coordination, and the hijackers exploited those vulnerabilities.
The 9/11 terrorists are still killing people at the rate of one every single day
25 years on from the attacks, the Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda’s terrorist legacy is seeing hundreds of people dying each year.
Breathing in the toxic dust in the days and weeks after the attack is still leading to a horrendous number of deaths.
On Saturday, another 345 names will be added to a memorial wall to those responders who have since died.
Over 9,500 people have now died as a result of 9/11 related illnesses. As well as firefighters and cops the names will include electricians, nurses, dentists, journalists and car mechanics – who all went down to Ground Zero.
“But it’s many more people than that – they’re only the ones we know about,” said John Feal, who has spearheaded the fight for justice for all those affected that day.
“And the numbers are only going to get much worse. This is going to go on for decades at least..”He said simply: “9/11 is still killing It’s the longest day in the history of days. People are being killed today as a result of what happened on 9/11.”
The numbers involved are staggering. 67 Brits were killed on 9/11 – the second highest of any nation – far more than at Lockerbie and the London 7/7 attacks.
Figures for the number of Brits in the 9,500 are not available. John, 59, is sitting in his office just a stone’s throw from Ground Zero.
There are dozens of photos on his wall of him at Washington DC including one with former President Joe Biden.
A demolition expert, he lost a foot six days after 9/11 when a huge World Trade Center beam fell and crushed it leading to 38 operations. He almost died but battled back to health to become a passionate advocate for justice.
He said: “There are now 69 separate cancers that have been officially linked to 9/11. That’s SIXTY NINE.” The cancers include: lung, bladder, skin and prostate.
Thousands of people have developed respiratory disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseWhat angers John most is the “lies” that the government told.
He explained: “The government said three or four days after the attacks that the air was safe. That’s not true. It was a lie.”On September 16th, Christy Todd Whitman, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency came out and callously, recklessly said that the air was safe to breathe and the water was safe to drink. I say ‘F**k you, Christy Todd Whitman your words cost a lot of deaths.”
“And she took orders from the White House to say that – because they wanted Wall Street up and running six days later to show the world that we’re the mighty United States and New York is resilient and the financial capital of the world and we’re the best.
Behind me they rebuilt lower Manhattan. They rebuilt lower Manhattan. They built skyscrapers that go to the clouds. But we forgot about those who were sick and dying and we should have rebuilt those people first.”
Particles found in the dust included asbestos, lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, crushed concrete, glass fibres, silica and burning synthetic materials.
Earlier this week New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani released 170,000 pages of records detailing health and air quality concerns. They included a bombshell memo written in October 2001 showing city officials knew about potential Ground Zero risks.
He said: “People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air.“And then, when they began to contend with the symptoms of the illnesses that followed, the government that had not hesitated to send them into harm’s way was nowhere to be found.
These are documents that show what the city knew about toxic air around Ground Zero, when they knew it and how they acted to limit liability.”
John organised for a wall of remembrance to be built at Nesconcet Park on Long Island. It first opened in 2011. It originally had 400 names on it.
He runs the FealGood Foundation and works for the Barasch & McGarry Charitable Foundation.
John said: “We always add more names to it on the first Saturday after 9/11.“This year there will be another 345 names engraved onto that wall. We know that 345 people died in the past 12 months from illnesses directly related to 9/11 and there will be many more that we have not been made aware of. Since 9/11 over 9,500 people have died from cancers, sarcoidosis and other diseases and illnesses from breathing in toxic dust of 9/11. “At least 30 journalists names are on that wall. While that memorial wall is my baby, from my point of view it is also a reminder that I failed them. I didn’t do it quick enough, or Congress didn’t do it quick enough, or the Senate didn’t do it quick enough. And it’s a reminder that I need to do better tomorrow.” “Take advantage of these things. I took so many people to D.C. with me, and so many of them have died fighting for the masses. My job as an advocate is to get people in the programme, get health care, get compensated. “But sometimes that’s not enough and they die from their illnesses.”
He said: “There’s 435 Congressional districts in the U.S – 433 of them were represented by people helping at Ground Zero. This park is a book, and it has so many pages. This book is not over until the last name is on the wall.”
The walls contain the names of not only uniformed first responders but also car mechanics, telephone company workers, forensic dentists, photographers, reporters and architects who worked or volunteered their time at Ground Zero.
He said: “Everybody on there played a part in ensuring that New York was up and running again in a timely manner.”
John has just finished a book, co-written with Irish author Charles Daly, called: ‘I will follow you anywhere – the true story of the 9/11 responders who took on Congress.’
He said: “Now that those of us who responded to the September 11 attacks are all sick and dying – or waiting to get sick – everyone’s favourite question is whether we would still go knowing what will happen to us.“Many responders say ‘absolutely’. But they would also appreciate not being lied to about the dust and the long term risks.”
Bridget Gormley lost her firefighter dad Billy to cancer 16 years after 9/11.
She said: “I want people to know people are still dying. Our fathers aren’t here to speak for themselves now, so we pick up the torch and carry it on. They weren’t the first, they won’t be the last.“While my dad survived the day of 9/11, the toxic dust lingered over his shoulder for 16 years. In January 2017, he was diagnosed with bladder cancer. Six months later, he passed away. “His cancer was directly linked to his exposure to the toxic chemicals present at Ground Zero. For my dad, his diagnosis was unwelcome, but anticipated. For our family, however, it was a complete shock. He rarely talked with me and my brothers about 9/11 and his time at Ground Zero, so we had no idea. “After his death, I needed to know more about the conditions at Ground Zero and what my dad could never bring himself to tell us. In searching for answers, I discovered tens of thousands of individuals who share my dad’s fate — men and women who had been in lower Manhattan breathing in toxins, who are now suffering or have died from related illnesses.”
