Twenty years after 9/11, most see a country forever changed - CBS News poll
CBSN
Most Americans believe the country was forever changed on 9/11, and most say they still remember that day well. Many of them report being personally affected, too, including so many who still express sadness, and even disbelief about the events, 20 years on.
Thinking about 9/11 continues to be emotional for most Americans. "Sad" describes the way they most often feel when they think or hear about that day. They also feel "angry," and half say thinking of 9/11 still makes them feel "scared." Many still express "disbelief," which has echoes of the feeling of "shocked" that CBS News polling heard from Americans on the night of the attacks 20 years ago, when that was the top feeling expressed about what had just happened, along with feeling "bad" and "horrified." Most of these emotions are especially felt among those who remember that day most. People who remember that day "very well" (six in 10 Americans) are the most likely to feel "sad" and "angry" when they think or hear about the events of September 11, 2001.Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.