Twenty-four years ago, nineteen terrorists attacked the United States as part of a coordinated extremist effort by al-Qaeda.

Today, the flags fly half-staff as the nation commemorates and honors, by public law, the victims and heroes.

At 8:46 a.m., the hijacked Flight 11 hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center complex in New York City. At 9:03 a.m., terrorists crashed Flight 175 into the South Tower.

Both towers ultimately collapsed, destroying five buildings beneath, and it wasn’t until May 30, 2002 that workers removed the last piece of steel from the complex.

Terrorists hijacked a third plane and crashed it into the Pentagon. Passengers on the fourth plane, Flight 93, overtook the terrorists and crashed the plane into an empty Pennsylvanian field. The plane was headed toward the Capitol building.

The events of 9/11 left 2,977 people from 90 nations dead.

At least 9,900 TCU students — most undergraduate students — were not alive during the attacks. Still, the nation remembers.

911memorial.org | ir.tcu.edu | war.gov/News/Article/Article/939950