The bewilderment of the crowd as they realize a plane has flown into the World Trade Center, Lower Manhattan covered in ash like stinking snow, The Falling Man, destruction at the very site of a nation’s military power, and a plane crash that simultaneously symbolized the heroism of an ordinary group of people and the possibility of the violence that could have occurred.

Each of these images provides a snapshot of the terror that spread across the country, whether one was at the epicenter of the tragedy or across the country watching television while waiting to be taken to school.

Nearly 3,000 people died as a result of the attacks, while thousands more suffered and died from cancer related to the work around Ground Zero in the aftermath.