The anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2021 attacks will be marked on Thursday. Nearly 3,000 people were killed that day 24 years ago: 2,753 at the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan; 184 at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia; and 40 on United Airlines flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania after brave passengers—preferring to plummet to their deaths rather than enable the plane to reach the White House or Capitol building—fought the hijackers.

Included in the total were all the passengers on American Airlines flights 11 and 77, which the Al Qaeda terrorists in the cockpit used as the weapons of mass destruction to topple the Twin Towers. 

In addition to the 2,977 men, women and children murdered on what came to be known as 9/11, more than 6,000 others were wounded during and following the Islamist assault on the shores and essence of the United States. The immediate injuries included crushed bones, burns and smoke inhalation. Longer-term trauma—as well as mental anguish—involved the health problems on the part of first responders and survivors stemming from exposure to toxic debris at Ground Zero.