PICTURE OF THE WEEK: The Worst Terrorist Attack in History

On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, a series of tragic events occurred in the United States. In the mid-morning hours, four passenger jets were hijacked by terrorists.

Each plane was taken over, and radar records show that all were directed on new flight paths. At 8:45 a.m., one of the planes crashed into a tower of the World Trade Center, one of the world's largest office buildings. Minutes later, another plane hit the second World Trade Center tower. Within the hour, at the Pentagon, a large government building in Arlington, Virginia, a third plane struck, creating a gaping hole in a large section of the building. A fourth plane also crashed to the ground in Pennsylvania.

Workers inside the three hit buildings rushed to escape. ``All this stuff started falling and all this smoke was coming through," said one of the women who escaped from the World Trade Center. "People were screaming, falling, and jumping out of the windows,'' she said.

Police officers, firefighters and paramedics rushed to help. As people were coming out, the emergency workers went in to put out the fires and rescue any people who were trapped.

At 9:50 a.m., an hour after the first crash, one of the World Trade Center towers completely collapsed. People on the streets could be seen diving for cover. So much dust, debris and smoke filled the area that the entire region appeared to be white.

The Mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani, said that over 200 firefighters were caught in the collapse and that some may have been killed. There were over 4,000 people who were thought to still be in World Trade Center buildings when they collapsed. Most have not been found. At the Pentagon, almost 200 people were believed to have been inside the section that was destroyed.

At New York hospitals, hundreds of people lined up to donate blood. Doctors, nurses and paramedics worked non-stop to help those who were injured. Over the next few days, the world watched as fire and rescue workers struggled to remove the crushed pieces of concrete, hoping to find survivors in the rubble. Nations including England, Australia, Sweden and Canada draped themselves in American flags and hung flags on their cars, their homes and their offices to show support for our country. People lit candles, wrote messages, sang songs and went to church to pray for the people who were missing and for the workers who were trying to rescue them.

Some people were rescued, but thousands are reported still missing, and many are known to have died in the tragedy. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation has asked that people wear red, white and blue ribbons to show their support for those who have lost loved ones and for those who are still searching. In a press release issued on Wednesday, September 12, 2001, they wrote:

"We join with the Concerns of Police Survivors in asking all public safety personnel and the general public to wear red, white and blue ribbons in remembrance of our fallen fire and law enforcement personnel and the other victims. You may also show your support by attaching a red, white and blue ribbon to your vehicle."

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