FOLSOM — The Folsom Fire Department and Folsom Police Department will host a 9/11 remembrance gathering to honor those who lost their lives and to commemorate the ultimate sacrifices made by first responders. The ceremony begins promptly at 8:46 a.m. on Thursday, September 11, at Folsom City Lions Park near the gazebo, and the public is encouraged to attend.
The observance marks 24 years since September 11, 2001, when 2,977 people were killed in coordinated terrorist attacks that stunned the nation and the world. Two hijacked commercial airliners struck the twin towers of New York City’s World Trade Center, another hit the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., and a fourth crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passengers fought back. The morning’s events unfolded live on television and reshaped the country’s security posture, foreign policy, and collective memory.
Looking back at September 11, 2001
5:45 a.m. — Mohamed Atta and Abdul Aziz al-Omari, two of the intended hijackers, pass through security at the Portland International Jetport in Maine. They take a commuter flight to Boston Logan International Airport and later board American Airlines Flight 11.
7:59 a.m. — American Airlines Flight 11 departs Boston for Los Angeles with 76 passengers, 11 crew members, and five hijackers on board.
8:15 a.m. — United Airlines Flight 175 departs Boston for Los Angeles with 51 passengers, nine crew members, and five hijackers on board.
8:19 a.m. — Flight attendant Betty Ann Ong alerts ground personnel that Flight 11 has been hijacked and the cockpit is unreachable.
8:20 a.m. — American Airlines Flight 77 departs Washington Dulles for Los Angeles with 53 passengers, six crew members, and five hijackers on board.
8:24 a.m. — Mohamed Atta, aboard Flight 11, unintentionally broadcasts to Boston air traffic control while attempting to address the cabin, alerting controllers to the hijacking.
8:37 a.m. — After hearing Atta’s transmission, Boston controllers alert the U.S. Air Force’s Northeast Defense Sector, which mobilizes the Air National Guard.
8:42 a.m. — United Airlines Flight 93 departs Newark for San Francisco after a delay. There are 33 passengers, seven crew members, and four hijackers on board.
8:46 a.m. — Flight 11 crashes into the World Trade Center’s North Tower, killing everyone aboard and trapping occupants above the 91st floor.
9:03 a.m. — Flight 175 crashes into the World Trade Center’s South Tower, killing all aboard and many inside the building.
9:05 a.m. — In a Florida elementary school classroom, President George W. Bush is informed that the second tower has been hit. As later documented by the Miller Center, he wrote that he chose to project calm and not alarm the students in the room.
9:28 a.m. — Hijackers attack aboard Flight 93.
9:37 a.m. — Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon, killing all passengers and crew and 125 civilian and military personnel inside the building.
9:45 a.m. — U.S. airspace is shut down under Operation Yellow Ribbon. All civilian aircraft are ordered to land at the nearest airport.
9:55 a.m. — Air Force One, carrying President Bush, takes off from Florida.
9:57 a.m. — Passengers aboard Flight 93 begin moving toward the cockpit to confront the hijackers; the pilot hijacker begins rolling the aircraft to destabilize the revolt.
9:59 a.m. — The South Tower collapses.
10:02 a.m. — Flight 93 crashes into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Its presumed target was either the White House or the U.S. Capitol.
10:18 a.m. — President Bush authorizes the shoot-down of any non-grounded aircraft posing a threat. The order is issued amid uncertainty about the status of Flight 93.
10:28 a.m. — The North Tower collapses.
10:53 a.m. — Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld orders U.S. military forces to a higher state of alert, moving to DEFCON 3.
11:45 a.m. — Air Force One lands at Barksdale Air Force Base near Shreveport, Louisiana.
12:15 p.m. — U.S. airspace is completely cleared of commercial and private flights.
1:30 p.m. — Air Force One departs Barksdale.
2:30 p.m. — New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani visits the site of the fallen towers at what becomes known as Ground Zero.
3:00 p.m. — Air Force One lands at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, where President Bush is taken to a secure bunker.
4:30 p.m. — Air Force One departs Offutt for Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C.
5:30 p.m. — World Trade Center Building 7 collapses.
8:30 p.m. — President Bush addresses the nation from the White House.
A local moment of remembrance
Folsom’s remembrance gathering at Folsom City Lions Park offers residents a chance to stand with local first responders in honoring the victims and the heroes of that day. The ceremony begins at 8:46 a.m., the moment the first plane struck the North Tower, and serves as a quiet reaffirmation that the events of September 11 will never be forgotten.
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