On this day, 23 years ago, the United States was forever changed by the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon, and aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in a Pennsylvania field.
Among the many responses across the country that day, F-16 fighter jets from Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan.
That morning, these aircraft were participating in a routine training mission at an air gunnery range near Grayling, Michigan. As they returned to base, they received the first reports of the terrorist attacks unfolding in New York and Washington, D.C.
Upon receiving the orders, the F-16s returned to Selfridge Air National Guard Base, where they were refueled, armed with live ammo, and launched again to defend the skies.
The photo above, taken in 2002, shows two F-16s from Selfridge flying a combat air patrol over Detroit. 📸 Selfridge Air National Guard.
