Hyderabad: Nineteen years back, the day brought simmerings in the Americans and showed the real face of terrorism as the catastrophic attacks swallowed nearly 3,000 innocent lives and left the Pentagon in a deep shock.
Four US planes bound for west coast destinations were highjacked by nineteen men on September 11, 2001.
The incident highlighted the fragility to the US security systems that it remembered to date and strengthen itself to not let 9/11 repeat again.
The highest casualties were at World Trade Centre as 2753 lives were lost after highjacked American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 were crashed into the north and south towers of the building. Merely six people survived attacks at the time of the crash and nearly 10,000 were injured.
At the Pentagon building in Washington, 184 people were killed when hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building.
Near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, 40 passengers and crew members aboard United Airlines Flight 93 died when the plane crashed into a field.
Experts believe that after the passengers and crew attempted to retake control of the flight deck, the hijackers crashed the plane in that location, rather than their unknown target.
Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden barged into the security shield of American defence. Soon after the attacks, Washington scrambled to catch the terror head in Afghanistan but it turned out to be an extremely long journey as American troops are still there.
Months after the attacks, Washington had removed the Taliban from the power that gave shelter to mastermind Laden, but it took 10 years to eliminate the Al-Qaeda chief. Still, the war continued in Afghanistan.
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However, American troops are still in Afghanistan but the US has signed a peace deal with the Taliban to pave the way for its troops withdrawal from the country.
In a year when the coronavirus pandemic has reshaped countless American rituals, even the commemoration of 9/11 could not escape unchanged.
The 19th anniversary of the terror attacks will be marked by duelling ceremonies at the Sept. 11 memorial plaza and a corner near the World Trade Center, reflecting a divide over the memorial's decision to suspend a cherished tradition of relatives reading victims' names in person. Vice President Mike Pence is expected at both those remembrances in New York, while President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden plan to go the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania.
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In New York, the double beams of light that evoke the fallen twin towers were nearly cancelled in the name of virus safety, until an uproar restored the tribute. The Fire Department has cited the virus in urging members to skip observances of the 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, among them almost 350 firefighters.
Some victims' relatives say they understand the ground zero observance had to change in a year when so much else has. Others fear the pandemic is making plain what they have feared was happening unspoken: that the commitment to “Never Forget” is fading.
“It’s another smack in the face," says Jim Riches, who lost his son Jimmy, a firefighter.
The father is staying home on the anniversary for the first time this year because he doesn’t want to take chances with the coronavirus after a prior illness. But he feels others should have the option of reciting the names of the dead on the memorial plaza, instead of listening to a recording.
Memorial leaders said they wanted to avoid close contact among readers, who are usually paired at the podium. But to Riches, a retired fire battalion chief and frequent critic of the memorial organization, the decision sounds like an excuse for sidelining the families’ role in commemorating 9/11.
