Rather than let the 9/11 terrorists use their plane against us, the passengers chose to fight back, preventing another attack on DC and becoming heroes in the war on terror. They are profiled in the visitor center exhibits, regular Americans who did not deserve to be killed by Al Qaeda.

I’m old enough to remember the events, but after my visit today, I felt the need to look up some details about what happened afterward. Turns out that Al Qaeda is still out there (although under new leadership after Seal Team 6 killed Bin Laden in 2011). Al Zawahiri was rumored to have died of natural causes in 2020, before finally being killed in a drone strike in August 2022. Iran and Syria have provided safe havens, and many of the senior members are reportedly Egyptian.

Remembering what happened that day is important for us and for future generations, and it is also important that we continue to bring justice to those responsible.