Valley 101

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Andrew Bird,13, woke up to the sounds of his mother running down the hallway and into his older sister's room. As he made his way into the room, Bird saw on the television footage of American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 crashing into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.  Bird, now 33, remembers thinking to himself, “I think dad is around there somewhere. I think something is very wrong there and we are in a lot of trouble right now.” His father, Gary Bird, was the only victim from Arizona to die in the attacks. This week marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Many of us remember exactly where we were when the Twin Towers fell. Some weren’t old enough to create memories of that day, but recognize its significance. And for others, it changed the trajectory of their life. In this week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, producer Maritza Dominguez speaks with four people, all of whom represent a diff