Wednesday, September 11, 2019

18: 9-11: Memorials

Memorials and services for the September 11 attacks

The first memorials to the victims of the September 11 attacks in 2001 began to take shape online, as hundreds of webmasters posted their own thoughts, links to the Red Cross and other rescue agencies, photos, and eyewitness accounts. Numerous online September 11 memorials began appearing a few hours after the attacks, although many of these memorials were only temporary. Around the world, U.S. embassies and consulates became makeshift memorials as people came out to pay their respects.

(Tribute In Light in 2004)

The Tribute in Light was the first major physical memorial at the World Trade Center site. A permanent memorial and museum, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center, were built as part of the design for overall site redevelopment. The Memorial consists of two massive pools set within the original footprints of the Twin Towers with 30-foot (9.1 m) waterfalls cascading down their sides. The names of the victims of the attacks are inscribed around the edges of the waterfalls. Other permanent memorials are being constructed around the world.

Temporary memorials:
Soon after the attacks, temporary memorials were set up in New York and elsewhere. On October 4, Reverend Brian Jordan, a Franciscan priest, blessed the World Trade Center cross, two broken beams at the crash site which had formed a cross, and then had been welded together by iron-workers. On October 13, the North Charleston Coliseum raised a special banner featuring the retired number of Mark Bavis, who was on United Airlines Flight 175. Bavis had played for the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays, and his retired number hangs in a special corner, independently from the Stingrays' retired numbers (#14, #24) and awards banners (1997 and 2001 Kelly Cup Championships), with the years he played for the team (1994–96), the date of his death (September 11, 2001), and an American flag. Also on October 13, The September 11 Photo Project was founded. The Project was a not-for-profit community based photo exhibit in response to the September 11 attacks and their aftermath. It toured seven cities over two years, collected photographs from more than 700 participants, and had over 300,000 visitors over its run. The Project provided a venue for the display of photographs accompanied by captions by anyone who wished to participate. The exhibit aimed to preserve a record of the spontaneous outdoor shrines that were being swept away by rain or wind or collected by the city for historical preservation. The Project was also made into a book titled "The September 11 Photo Project" in May 2002. It has sold over 60,000 copies to date. On March 11, 2002, the damaged sculpture The Sphere, formerly displayed in the World Trade Center, was dedicated by the city as a temporary memorial in Battery Park City.

Permanent memorials:

NYC:

(The National September 11 Memorial and Museum in 2012)

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum (also known as the 9/11 Memorial & Museum) is a memorial and museum in New York City commemorating the September 11, 2001 attacks, which killed 2,996 people, and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, which killed six. The memorial is located at the World Trade Center site, the former location of the Twin Towers that were destroyed during the September 11 attacks. It is operated by a non-profit institution whose mission is to raise funds for, program, and operate the memorial and museum at the World Trade Center site. A dedication ceremony commemorating the tenth anniversary of the attacks was held at the memorial on September 11, 2011, and it opened to the public the following day. The museum was dedicated on May 15, 2014, with remarks from Michael Bloomberg and President Barack Obama. The museum opened to the public on May 21.

The Pentagon:

(The Pentagon Memorial)

The Pentagon Memorial, located just southwest of The Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, is a permanent outdoor memorial to the 184 people who died as victims in the building and on American Airlines Flight 77 during the September 11 attacks. Designed by Julie Beckman and Keith Kaseman of the architectural firm of Kaseman Beckman Advanced Strategies with engineers Buro Happold,  the memorial opened on September 11, 2008, seven years after the attack. The Memorial is open seven days a week, year-round. It is also the only place on the Pentagon grounds where photography by the public is permitted. As of August 2011, the memorial had received an annual average of 225,000 to 250,000 visitors.

PA:

(The Flight 93 National Memorial)

The Flight 93 National Memorial is located at the site of the crash of United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked in the September 11 attacks, in Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Shanksville, and 60 miles (97 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. The memorial was made to honor the passengers and crew of Flight 93, who stopped the terrorists from reaching their target by fighting the hijackers. A temporary memorial to the 40 victims was established soon after the crash, and the first phase of the permanent memorial was completed, opened, and dedicated on September 10, 2011. The design for the memorial is a modified version of the entry Crescent of Embrace by Paul and Milena Murdoch.  A concrete and glass visitor center was opened on September 10, 2015,[2] situated on a hill overlooking the crash site and the white marble Wall of Names. An observation platform at the visitor center and the white marble wall are both aligned beneath the path of Flight 93.

Annual commemorations:

Every year on September 11 a commemoration is held at the National September 11 Memorial. Family members read the names of victims of the attacks, as well as victims of the 1993 World Trade Center truck bombing. Elected officials and other dignitaries attend, but since the 2012 event they have not given speeches.

The Tribute in Light project consists of 88 searchlights placed next to the site of the World Trade Center created two vertical columns of light. The tribute began in 2001, and is now made every year on September 11.

Memorial flags:

(The National 9-11 Flag)

The National 9/11 Flag was made from a tattered remains of a 30-foot (9.1 m) American flag found by recovery workers in the early morning of September 12, 2001. It was hanging precariously from some scaffolding at a construction site next to Ground Zero. Because of safety reasons the flag could not be taken down until late October 2001. Charlie Vitchers, a construction superintendent for the Ground Zero cleanup effort, had a crew recover the flag. It was placed in storage for seven years. The flag has made a number appearances across the country including a Boston Red Sox Game, a New York Giants Home Opener, and the USS New York Commissioning Ceremony. It also appeared on the CBS Evening News and on ABC World News Tonight "Persons of the Week." The flag began a national tour on Flag day, which was on June 14, 2009. It will visit all 50 states where service heroes, veterans, and other honorees will each add stitching and material from other retired American flags in order to restore the original 13 stripes of the flag. The flag will have a permanent home at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. 

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