Montana Remembers: 9/11, 24 Years Later

Tomorrow marks one of the darkest days in American history. The 24th Anniversary of September 11, 2001, is a date none of us will ever forget. Even here in Montana, thousands of miles from New York City, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania, the shockwaves reached instantly.

I was still a kid in elementary school, and I can still remember it vividly. Students being checked out of class in a rush, hushed whispers among teachers, and finally, the announcement over the intercom. It’s a memory seared into me, and I know I’m not alone. Ask anyone, and they’ll tell you exactly where they were when the world changed that morning.

At 8:46 a.m. Eastern Time, American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Seventeen minutes later, United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower. At 9:03 a.m.. Then at 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, killing 184 people on board and inside the building. The final hijacked plane, United Airlines Flight 93, went down in a Pennsylvania field at 10:03 a.m., after passengers fought back against the hijackers.

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Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives that day, including firefighters, police officers, and everyday citizens simply heading to work. It’s important to remember: this isn’t just history, it’s our history. Even out here in Montana, we mourned. We prayed. We stood still as a nation in shock.Today and tomorrow, take a moment to pause, share your story, and remember those lives lost. Because as long as we continue to tell their stories, they are never truly gone.