Oak Ridge firefighters are pictured above at the 9/11 memorial at Oak Ridge High School on Sept. 11, 2017. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Schools)

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As is emblazoned in many of our memories, September 11, 2001, was the day that 19 militants associated with al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against several targets in the United States. Beginning at 9:03 a.m., two planes crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third airplane flew into the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., and the fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people died in these attacks.

To ensure Oak Ridge residents remember the impact of this day in history, Ken Senter, Advanced Placement US History teacher, arranged for remnants of the Twin Towers and a block of granite from Ground Zero to serve as a memorial at Oak Ridge High School. The display resides at the north entrance to the school on Providence Road. Each September 11, beginning exactly at 9:03 a.m., students at Oak Ridge High School gather at this site for a tribute to the lives of victims and first responders, both living and lost. For the past decade-and-a-half, our students have shared their own memories of the day’s events. [Read more…]