What Do You Remember About Sept. 11, 2001?

10 years ago, no one knew what was about to happen in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. No one knew what changes were about to come for the United States. 

Shortly before 8 a.m. central time on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, news went out that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers in New York City. Within 15 minutes, a second plane crashed into the second tower. Many television news programs, already covering the first crash, showed the second crash live.

As the morning went on, a third hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon, and a fourth crashed in a field about 80 miles away from Pittsburgh. 

The country's air space was shut down, stranding President George H. W. Bush and his wife Barbara in the Milwaukee area. 

The attacks were the impetus for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. They heightened racial and religious tensions. But they also saw people pull together in extraordinary ways to help. 

A decade later, many remember where they were when they heard of the attacks, what that day was like, and the emotions that came after. For some, the impact didn't fade. 

Evan Smith took this photo of Ladder 40 in September 2001, about a week before the World Trade Center towers fell. He and his family were on vacation and Evan, then 11, and his brother, Ryan, then 16, took several pictures of fire trucks, ladder engines and rescue vehicles. A week later, several of those trucks, engines and vehicles were lost in the attacks along with the personnel who staffed them. Since then, the Smith brothers’ photos were featured in a national, traveling exhibit of photographs that were a fundraiser for the families of 9/11 victims. Ryan, now 26, followed his father, Perry, into firefighting. Perry is a lieutenant with the t and Ryan is part of the department in Memphis, TN. Evan, 21, is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee majoring in criminal justice. 

Read more stories about how Sept. 11 affected people in the area in these stories from Patch.

Brookfield: 
Brookfield: 
Fox Point: 
Greenfield:Firefighter Recalls 9/11/02 Trip to Ground Zero  and 
Menomonee Falls: 
Muskego: 
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Oak Creek: 
Port Washington: 
Shorewood: 
Sussex: 
Whitefish Bay: 
Waukesha: 
Wauwatosa: 

What do you remember about Sept. 11, 2001? A decade later, how do you think the attacks are still being felt?