9/11 plus 7

There are a few seminal moments in the life of a nation where you ask someone, "where were you when you heard..." and they'll instantly tell you where they were, what they were doing, and how they felt. The assassination of President Kennedy is one of those moments. Those who were alive in 1941 can tell you where they were when they heard that Japan had attacked a place called Pearl Harbor. On September 11, 2001 one of those moments which sears itself into the memory of a nation occured. On that early fall day, 19 men hijacked four commerical airliners, turning them into flying bombs.

Brief Chronology
-At 7:45am (CT), American Airlines flight 11 out of Boston's Logan Airport crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

-At 8:03am, United Airlines flight 175 (also from Boston) crashes into the World Trade Center South Tower.

-At 8:30am, President Bush speaking from an elementary school in Florida, states that America has suffered an "apparent terrorist attack."

-At 8:40am, the FAA orders all flight operations at U.S. airports to be stopped. This is the first time in American history this has occured.

-At 8:43am, American Airlines flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon.

-At 8:45am, as President Bush leaves Florida, the White House is evacuated.

-At 9:05am, the WTC South tower collapses.

-At 9:10am, United Airlines flight 93 crashes into a Pennsylvania field.

-At 9:28am, the WTC North tower collapses.

-At 10:02am, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani urges New Yorkers to stay at home and orders an evacuation of the area south of Canal Street.

-At 12:04pm, President Bush speaking from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana asks for prayers for those killed or wounded in the attacks and says, "Make no mistake, the United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts."

-At 1:49pm, Mayor Giuliani was asked about the number of people killed. Giuliani says, "I don't think we want to speculate about that - more than any of us can bear."

-At 3:00pm, news is revealed that Osama bin Laden, suspected of coordinating the bombings of two U.S. embassies in 1998, is involved in the attacks.

-At 5:54pm, Bush arrives back at the White House where he is to address the nation that evening.

-At 7:30pm, President Bush addresses the nation, saying "thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil" and asks for prayers for the families and friends of Tuesday's victims. "These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve," he says. The president says the U.S. government will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed the acts and those who harbor them.

-At 9:49pm, it is reported that Attorney General Ashcroft told members of Congress that there were three to five hijackers on each plane armed only with knives.

In closing, two fitting tributes (both from Christian music legends). The first, "There She Stands" by Michael W. Smith (warning: you may need a Kleenex nearby). The second, "The Ones Left Standing" by Wayne Watson.