Disturbed 9/11 'Sound of Silence' Tribute

These days, it feels like the 9/11 attacks happened a lifetime ago. Oh, I’ll think of them on occasion when they’re mentioned on TV or when I hear a jet engine overhead, but those are just fleeting thoughts and I typically go on with my day, unaffected. The 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Flight 93 seem more like scenes from a movie than actual events experienced by real people. Even though we all resolutely declared at the time that we would “never forget,” time has smoothed the edges and taken the sting out of the most painful memories.

But then on occasion something comes along that reminds me—takes me back to the terrifying moment I realized our country was under attack. At the time we didn’t yet know that radical Islamists were to blame, we only knew that there were planes flying into buildings and our fellow Americans were dying before our eyes as we helplessly stared at our TV screens. This video tribute, set to the haunting harmonies of Disturbed’s version of “Sound of Silence,” takes me back to that moment and the heart-wrenching hours and days that followed. As difficult as this is to watch, it’s a good reminder of how easily our peaceful lives can be violently disrupted and how tenuous our grip on a secure existence is.

Watch NBC’s news coverage as it unfolded on live TV. The video begins with NBC’s “Today” show. Matt Lauer interrupts an interview and begins to describe the events that have begun to unfold in New York City. The coverage continued throughout the day.