Sept. 11 attacks — 10 numbers we should never forget

As I do every year, yesterday I took out the New York Post commemorative addition I have saved since the year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. It's cover is emblazoned "Lest we forget" and inside are the stories of people one year later and how they were faring.

One of the things that conveys the stark reality of the horrors that occurred that day is an article entitled "For the Record," which quantifies the effects of the day's events on all of us. Here are some of the most striking facts I found — by the numbers:

• 2 — The age of Cristine Hanson, the youngest passenger killed on the hijacked jets;
• 2,000 — The number of children who lost a parent on Sept. 11;
• 343 — The number of firefighters lost by the New York City Fire Department;
• 1,000 — The amount of gas masks were sold by the Kejo company in September, 2001;
• 300,000 — Number of phone calls logged in the first 15 minutes of the "America: A tribute to heroes" telethon on Sept. 21, 2001;
• 600 — Number of Cantor Fitzgerald employees lost in the attacks;
• 2,000 — the number of memorial items found at the Shanksville, PA crash site which are now housed at the Somerset historical museum;
• 200,000 — The units of blood collected by the Red Cross in the four days after Sept. 11, 2001;
• 23,600 — The number of new screening employees hired by the TSA as of Sept. 3;
• 21 — The number of office buildings that were affected by the attacks;
• 261 — The number of days spent removing the debris at Ground Zero;
• 1,337 — The number of vehicles crushed when the towers collapsed;
• 700 — The number of businesses in the complex near the WTC that were destroyed or severely damaged;
• 116,000 — The number of American flags Walmart sold on Sept. 11;
• 99  — Number of days the fires at Ground Zero continued to burn.

More from New Jersey 101.5: