Chuck Schumer: “24 years ago today, September 11, 2001, started off like any other day in New York City. The weather was beautiful.…”

“24 years ago today, September 11, 2001, started off like any other day in New York City. The weather was beautiful. People were out and about. It was primary day, and people were lining up to vote. Then, in an instant, everything changed. At 8:46 a.m., Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. There was chaos and confusion. Seventeen minutes later, flight 175 crashed into the South Tower. The reality of what was happening became clear: This wasn't a horrific accident. America was under attack. New York City was Ground Zero. The course of American history was changed forever. Twenty-four years later, not a day has passed that I haven't thought about the people we lost that day, including three friends of mine: a guy I played basketball with in high school, a businessman who helped me on the way up, a firefighter I did blood drives with around the city. May their memories be a blessing. I still think about the scenes when I arrived at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the attack the day after. The putrid smell of dead, burned flesh was in the air. I remember the rows upon rows of people holding up makeshift signs with photos of their missing loved ones because no one knew who was alive and who wasn't: Have you seen my brother Bill? Have you seen my daughter Mary? The anguish on their faces stays in my mind to this day. They are the kind of heart-wrenching images that will stay with me for a lifetime.”