September 11: Photos of the Worst Terrorist Attack on US Soil

The south tower of the World Trade Center collapses.

Policemen and firemen run away from the huge dust cloud caused as the north tower of the World Trade Center collapses.

Marcy Borders is covered in dust as she takes refuge in an office building after one of the World Trade Center towers collapsed in New York. Borders was outside on the street as the cloud of smoke and dust enveloped the area. Borders was diagnosed with stomach cancer in August 2014, which she believed was a side effect of the toxic dust she was exposed to during the 9/11 attacks. She died on August 24, 2015.

A rescue dog is transported out of the debris of the World Trade Center on September 15, 2001.

Mike Scott from the California Task Force-8 and his dog, Billy, search through rubble for victims of the September 11 terrorist attack at the World Trade Center September 21, 2001 New York City, NY.

Civilians bolt in the opposite direction as firefighters rush towards the Twin Towers of the NYC’s World Trade Center after a plane hit the building on September 11, 2001.

Suicide hijackers flew planes into both towers of the World Trade Center, causing the towers’ eventual collapse. 

The New York City Fire Department lost 343 among their ranks on 9/11. Here, FDNY firefighters react after the collapse of the building.

A New York firefighter is seen alone amid the rubble of the World Trade Center following the attacks. 

Members of the FDNY carry fellow firefighter, Al Fuentes, who was injured in the collapse of the World Trade Center. Fuentes, who had been pinned under a vehicle, survived.

A firefighter crouches in grief at the World Trade Center site on 9/11.

The rubble of the World Trade Center smolders on September 12, 2001 as firefighters continue recovery efforts.

At the World Trade Center, President George W. Bush comforts Lieutenant Lenard Phelan, whose brother was among the missing. Lieutenant Kenneth Phelan was eventually found dead.

An estimated 17,400 people had been at the WTC on the day of the 9/11 attacks, and some 87 percent of them were safely evacuated thanks in large part to firefighters’ efforts.

In this handout provided by the FBI, first responders on scene following an attack at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 in Arlington, Virginia.

First responders pour water on the fire on scene following the attacks.

This FBI photo shows a closer look at the damage to the building.

Emergency workers and firefighters worked through the night searching for survivors.

A piece of debris from American Airlines Flight 77 that was collected by the FBI on scene following the attacks.

Another piece of debris from American Airlines Flight 77 that was collected by the FBI on scene following the attacks.

Smoke rises behind investigators as they comb the crater left by the crash of United Airlines flight 93 near Shanksville, Pennsylvania September 12, 2001.

A cross draped with white cloth stands on a hill overlooking the valley where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed, killing 40 passengers and crew members.

This photo shows the flight data recorder found at the scene where United Flight 93 crashed.

Amy Shumaker, of Hooversville, Pa., holds her son at the Flight 93 memorial on Sept. 4, 2002. Shumaker was one of the first EMTs on the scene at the time of the crash.

On Sept. 24, 2002, Congress passed the Flight 93 National Memorial Act to create a national park to commemorate the passengers and crew of Flight 93. It opened to the public in 2015.

President George W. Bush reacts as he’s informed by his chief of staff, Andrew Card, of the attacks on the World Trade Center. The president had been reading to a second-grade class in Sarasota, Fla.

Dan Bartlett, deputy assistant to the president, points to news footage of the World Trade Center, President Bush gathers information.

U.S. Secret Service and military police double up security checks for all passengers boarding Air Force One 11 as President Bush departs Sarasota.

Back at the White House, Vice President Dick Cheney watches the news of the attacks in his office before being led to the underground White House bunker.

Vice President Cheney meets with senior staff in the Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC), the Cold War-era bunker under the White House.

President Bush speaks to Vice President Cheney aboard Air Force One on Sept. 11, 2001, after departing Offutt Air Force Base in Sarpy County, Nebraska.

President Bush watches television coverage of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, from his office aboard Air Force One.

President Bush aboard Air Force One. Not knowing how many more hijacked planes might be at large, the Secret Service decided it was unsafe to take the president back to Washington.

President Bush and staff look out windows at their F-16 escort while en route to Barksdale Air Force Base. Initially, they weren’t sure whether the approaching planes were hostile.

An F-16 escorts Air Force One from Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska back to the nation’s capital on Sept. 11, 2001.

This American Airlines flight attendant wings lapel pin belonged to Karyn Ramsey, friend and colleague of 28-year-old Sara Elizabeth Low, who was working aboard Flight 11, which crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

This pager, recovered from Ground Zero, belonged to Andrea Lyn Haberman. Haberman was from Chicago and was in New York City on September 11, 2001 for a meeting at Carr Futures offices, located on the 92nd floor of the North Tower. It was Haberman’s first time visiting New York; she was only 25 years old when she was killed in the attacks.

On the morning of September 11, 55-year-old Robert Joseph Gschaar was working on the 92nd floor of the South Tower. At the time of the attack, he called his wife to let her know about the incident and reassured her that he would safely evacuate. Robert did not make it out of the tower alive. A year after the attacks his wallet and wedding ring were recovered.Inside his wallet was a $2 bill. Robert and his wife, Myrta, carried around $2 bills during there 11-year marriage to remind each other that they were two of a kind.

On September 11, FDNY Squad 18 responded to the attacks on the Twin Towers. Among this unit was David Halderman, who was a firefighter just like his father and brother. His helmet was found crushed on September 12, 2001 and given to his brother, Michael, who believes his death was due to the the collapse of the tower and a strike to the head. David Halderman’s body was not recovered until October 25, 2001.

This I.D. card belonged to Abraham J. Zelmanowitz, an Empire BlueCross BlueShield computer programmer. On the morning of the attacks, he was working on the 27th floor of the North Tower, along with a wheelchair-bound friend, Edward Beyea. Zelmanowitz decided to stay behind to remain by his friend’s side as the rest of the company began to evacuate. Coworkers who evacuated informed professional emergency responders that the two were awaiting assistance inside.FDNY Captain William Francis Burke, Jr. arrived at the scene on the 27th floor as the South Tower began to collapse. Burke, with the same bravery as Zelmanowitz, sacrificed his life to help others by telling his team to evacuate to safety while he stayed behind to try and help Zelmanowitz and Beyea. The three men would only make it as far down as the 21st floor, making phone calls to loved ones before their deaths.

This pair of women’s heels belonged to Fiduciary Trust employee Linda Raisch-Lopez, a survivor of the attacks on the World Trade Center. She began her evacuation from the 97th floor of the South Tower after seeing flames from the North Tower. She removed her shoes and carried them as she headed down the stairs, reaching the 67th floor when the South Tower was stuck by Flight 175. As she headed uptown to escape, she put her shoes back on, and they became bloody from her cut and blistered feet. She donated her shoes to the museum.

This gold link bracelet belonged to Yvette Nicole Moreno. Bronx native Yvette Nicole Moreno was working as a receptionist at Carr Futures on the 92nd floor of the North Tower, after recently being promoted from a temporary position. After the North Tower was hit, she called her mother to let her know she was heading home. However, on her way out of the office she was struck by debris from the South Tower, dying at the young age of 24.

This baseball cap belonged to 22-year veteran of the Port Authority Police Department, James Francis Lynch. At the time of the attacks, James was off duty and recovering from surgery, but felt the need to respond. He had previously responded to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. He died at the age of 47 that day, and his body was not recovered until December 7, 2001.

This police badge belonged to John William Perry, a New York Police Department officer with the 40th Precinct and a N.Y. State Guard first lieutenant. He was another off-duty officer who responded to the attacks. He had plans to retire from the police force to pursue a career as a full-time lawyer. He was 38 years old.

On March 30, 2002 a firefighter working at Ground Zero found a bible fused to a piece of metal. The bible was open to a page with fragments of legible text reading “an eye for an eye” and “resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Watch this video to learn more about the bible.