Vistors’ Voices at the 9/11 Memorial

Many people visit the 9/11 Memorial to remember, to honor the dead and to feel a connection to an important moment in American history and the life of New York. These are some of the things people visiting said the day before the 25th Anniversary of 9/11.

by Paul Alzate

“After seeing all those lives that were lost during that day, it made me wonder about all the families who will never get to see their sons, daughters, parents and loved ones again,” Cierra Beckham said.  The 42-year-old from Boston, Massachusetts, was only a child during the events. She did not lose a loved one, but it changed the way she says goodbye to the people who matter the most to her.

As she stood with relatives looking at the two reflecting pools with names of nearly 3,000 dead etched in bronze around the edges, she explained that she changed the way she treated people after the terrorist attacks. She said that she began to make sure that she said her farewells before leaving home or separating from a loved one, just in case it was the last last time they saw each other. 

On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, she said she came to the memorial to pay tribute to “. . . all who were lost that day.”

by Elina Camilo

Olivia Evkins and firefighter John Birrer, a couple from Ohio visiting New York, came specifically to the memorial to pay their respects. John Birrer said, “The museum feels like something you can either have a quick pass through or be there the whole day.” The terrorist attack leaves an impression in people’s hearts, young and old, throughout the country because this is a day “nobody will forget.” 

by Jaden Nunez

Yin looked at a tattered American flag in the 9/11 Memorial Museum a day before the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. The twenty-four-year old from China didn’t share a last name. But with his brown leather jacket and a bag slung across his shoulder, he could’ve been just another New Yorker. Staring at the flag he explained he came to the museum for the first time because he wanted to learn more about what happened that day. Yin was 24 years old at the time, and the incident had no impact on him. The terrorist attacks did not affect anyone he knew. But he said something that really stood out.  When growing up, he said,  he would always see things about 9/11 that would make him sad. Since he traveled to New York, he wanted to visit the museum to honor the victims and to learn more about the attacks. He says that being here feels completely different than seeing all the things online. It makes him feel sadder. Yin recommended that people visit, learn, and honor those who lost their lives on that day.

by Denisse Cortes

As she stood teary-eyed in front of the “Last Column” in the 9/11 Memorial Museum Jazmin Delgado from Tampa, Florida, said that she was 11 when the attacks happened. This was her first trip to the memorial. She said that the artifacts look like props from an art museum, except she understood that it was all from an event that changed the U.S. forever. Delgado remembers watching the story of 9/11 unfold on her TV. Her father worked a few blocks away from ground zero and he told her he could not believe the destruction left in the city.

Cecilia, from Ecuador, had travelled to New York with her daughter for a week. But when she learned that this would be the 25th anniversary of the attacks she decided to take some time out of her trip to visit the memorial. She walked alongside the twin waterfall pools on crutches, with the help of her daughter. In Spanish, she explained wanting to see the place where she remembered watching the fall of the twin towers on TV. She said at the time it felt like watching a movie.

A group of visitors from India also recalled watching the events on TV.  They explained that Indian media kept it on all day. Manoha and Tarur were in this group. The two of them had visited the memorial before, but on this day they brought their friend Anit to see it for the first time and it felt different.  Tarur said he felt “sadness in the environment and seeing so many people be emotional.”