Brennan Armknecht

Miss Schmidt
English 9

On September 11, 2001, the largest act of terrorism on US soil was launched. It all began at 8:45 am when a Boeing
767 crashed into the North Tower of the world trade center. News outlets rushed to the scene to capture footage.
Then, at 9:03 am, 18 minutes after the first plane hit, another plane hit the south tower of the world trade center on
live television. This day was truly tragic. Many people have stories about this day. One story that really stuck out to
me was the story of Ron DiFrencesco, a worker on the 84 th floor of building two. Ron witnessed the first plane
bombard building one. Immediately, he went to the elevator to evacuate. As he was going down, the second plane hit
his building. He thought the building would collapse right then and there. He escaped the elevator and made his way
down the stairs. As he was walking, a woman told him that the stairwell bellow him was ablaze. He went all the way
up to floor 94. He thought that he had no chance of survival and soon decided that he had to test his luck on the
staircase. He had a voice in his head telling him to remove a slab of drywall, and behold, he found the stairwell and
evacuated. He speaks of wives calling him, asking what their husband did. He is still traumatized to this day. This
story stuck to me because it showed that he somehow found a way out. He is the most resilient person I know.
What do you feel is the cornerstone of our country?
I feel that freedom is the cornerstone of America. We are a country based on the right to have an uncommon belief
and the right to express ourselves how we want. We are a nation of individuality. This is why America is the greatest
country in the world. We are proud of ourselves and of our fellow citizens. In the early days, people came to America
to seek religious freedom. For 300 years, we have fought for the belief that all men are created equal, and have the
basic human right to express themselves no matter race or religion. Freedom is the reason America is America.