We are 22 years removed from that tragic day in 2001.
But to most of us it seems like yesterday.
That morning when four U.S. jetliners were hijacked by terrorist we soon learned were part of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
Two of the flights crashed into the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center, bringing down those magnificent buildings -- along with another in the complex -- and killing more than 2,700 people in the buildings and on the planes. Several other buildings in the area were damaged as well and the Wall Street district would remain a virtual ghost town for weeks.
The third plane crashed into the Pentagon, tearing a large hole in the side of America's military headquarters and claiming 184 in all.
The last airliner, reportedly headed for either the U.S. Capitol or the White House, crashed near Shanksville, Penn., after passengers and crew heroically attempted to wrest control from the hijackers.
Some 2,974 people -- including 19 hijackers -- died in the attacks that day. Another 24 remain listed as missing from the World Trade Center.
And the man who boasted of planning and ordering the attacks -- Osama bin Laden -- would finally been brought to justice.
Yes, it took nearly 10 years to find bin Laden. But find him we did. And he paid the price he deserved for orchestrating the deadly attacks of September 11, 2001.
As will all who attack this great nation.
Today, we remember nearly 3,000 souls taken far too soon. We pray for them as well as for their families and friends.
And for our nation. God bless America.