America will never forget Sept. 11, 2001.

The smoke and ash that filled the air, the collapse and destruction of the World Trade Center and the piles of rubble are images that can never be erased. 13 years ago American lives were changed forever.

A total of 2,996 people lost their lives during the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Of these deaths, 2,977 were innocent American citizens including the passengers on the four airplanes, workers in the World Trade Center and Pentagon, first responders, police officers, paramedics, firefighters and military personnel.

Many first responders risked their lives to save American victims trapped in the rubble and burning buildings, especially within the World Trade Center towers.

Other first responders around the country were sent to New York to help respond to the disaster.

“My dad is a firefighter so he was called to go to New York on a rescue mission with other firefighters from other states to recover and rescue fallen firefighters from the site,” said junior and psychology major Shannon Cosgrave.

Her father, David Cosgrave is the Battalion Chief of Half Moon Bay, CA and spent about a week in New York, working to help cleanup and rescue bodies and wreckage from the rubble.

Al-Qaida, the Islamic extremist group, coordinated four terrorist attacks in the U.S. Terrorists hijacked four airline planes and crashed them into multiple locations in the states of New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania. They attempted to weaken and destroy American power by attacking the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Adrianna Lazar, a freshman and theater arts major remembered her parents’ reaction to the 9/11 tragedy, as they are both police officers.

“They were affected as any first responder in America would be and that’s why they had a moment of realization: that it could be them.  It also shows America that first responders put their lives on the line everyday and they know it. They return because to them the reward is greater than the looming possibility of death,” Lazar said.

Freshman and undeclared major Diana Robles remembers Sept. 11 as a tragic and saddening day in the United States. 

She also recognizes the work and effort the police and military give back to the nation every day.

“I realized how lucky I was to live in a country where attacks like that are very rare and that we were safe and we didn’t have to be scared because there were so many police officers and people in the military taking care of us on a daily basis,” Robles said.

The effects of the tragic day of Sept. 11, 2001 that scarred the United States  over a decade ago, are still present in the memories of many Americans today. The anniversary serves as a reminder to what has happen in the past and what Americans can do in the future as a nation.