Ellie-Vated Conversations: Remembering 9/11

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - 25 years ago, the country fell silent

• 8:46 a.m. — Hijackers aboard American Airlines Flight 11 crash the plane into floors 93-99 of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, killing everyone on board and hundreds inside the building.
• 8:47 a.m. — Within seconds, NYPD and FDNY forces dispatch units to the World Trade Center.
• 9:03 a.m. — Hijackers crash United Airlines Flight 175 into floors 77-85 of the WTC’s South Tower, killing everyone on board and hundreds inside the building.
• 9:37 a.m. — Hijackers aboard Flight 77 crash the plane into the western façade of the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., killing 59 passengers and crew and 125 military and civilian personnel inside the building.
• 9:59 a.m. — The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses.
• 10:03 a.m. — After passengers and crew members aboard the hijacked Flight 93 contact friends and family and learn about the attacks in New York and Washington, they mount an attempt to retake the plane. In response, hijackers deliberately crash the plane into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, killing all 40 passengers and crew aboard.
• 10:28 a.m. — The World Trade Center’s North Tower collapses, 102 minutes after being struck by Flight 11.

What happened on September 11, 2001, is unfathomable. Living through it, witnessing it and seeing the whole country glued to the television, even from afar, is hard to explain.

Here in Laredo, while not directly affected, firefighters and public servants saw the country change. The dedication from the New York Fire Department that day will go down in history, and it happens to mean a lot for one Jorge Gomez.

Gomez, a recent retiree from the department after serving 31 years, reflects on just how much 9/11 changed the world we know today.

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