Patriot Day is marked every year as the National Day of Service and Remembrance to honor those who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

It’s been 20 years since 9/11. The devastating attacks, carried out by al-Qaeda terrorists, claimed the lives of 2,996 people and left thousands injured in the United States. On this day in 2001, hijackers seized four passenger planes and crashed them into the north and south towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Virginia and a field in Pennsylvania.

Here are some quotes collected from documents released after the attack:

  • “What do I tell the pilots to do?” -- Barbara Olson, CNN commentator and a passenger on American Airlines Flight 77 during a cellphone call to her husband, Solicitor General Theodore Olson.
  • “We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you will be okay. We are returning to the airport. Nobody move, everything will be okay. If you try to make any moves you'll endanger yourself and the airplane.” -- Mohamed Atta, American Airlines Flight 11 hijacker pilot, heard on a radio transmission while intending to send a message to the passengers.
  • “Something is wrong. We are in a rapid descent... we are all over the place. ... I see water. I see buildings. We are flying low. We are flying very, very low. We are flying way too low. ... Oh my God, we are way too low... Oh my God, we're —” -- Flight attendant Madeline Amy Sweeney describing the hijacking of American Airlines Flight 11 at the end of her phone call to a supervisor.
  • "Are you guys ready? Let's roll." -- Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer, apparently as a signal to other passengers to attack the hijackers.
  • "We're young men; we're not ready to die." -- Kevin Cosgrove, a business executive who was on the 105th floor of the south tower moments before it collapsed.
  • "Hi, this is the captain. I would like you all to remain seated. There is a bomb on board and we are going back to the airport ... Please remain quiet." -- hijacker aboard United Flight 93, which crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
  • "We may have a hijack. We have some problems over here right now." -- air traffic controller on the ground on Long Island shortly after the first plane struck the north tower.
Twenty years have passed since the 9/11 attacks by Al-Qaeda in the United States, but the fallout remains painful for Americans
Twenty years have passed since the 9/11 attacks by Al-Qaeda in the United States, but the fallout remains painful for Americans AFP / SETH MCALLISTER
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