Visitors leave flowers and other remembrances at the 9/11 Memorial. Photo by DeJuan Davis
Two days before 9/11 people came to visit the memorial to remember, honor, and find out what happened that morning 24 years ago. “If you come to New York you must visit. You have to pay your respects,” Ian Mckinley said. He and his wife Karen, from Scotland, are vacationing in New York and stood in front of the survivor’s tree to write their message of remembrance. Karen had visited five times before and said, “You must visit.”
The 9/11 Memorial sits on the footprint of the Twin Towers, which were attacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001. Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four planes that morning. Two planes came from Logan Airport in Boston and flew directly into the towers. The first flown by the lead terrorist Mohamed Atta hit the north tower at 8:56 a.m. The second plane flew into the south tower at 9:03 a.m. An estimated 17,000 people were in the towers and scrambled in terror and confusion. Firefighters, NYPD officers and other first responders rushed to the scene. Many were able to help people get out of the buildings, but fire fighters, office workers, restaurant workers, janitorial staff and visitors were trapped by flames and smoke. The south tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m. The north tower went down at 10:28 a.m. Nearly 3,000 died that day including first responders.
A single white rose was left to remember. Photo by Abubakary Jallow.
“The attack changed the landscape of the country,” said John Moscrip visiting with his wife from Bellevue, Washington. People from around the world feel compelled to visit. Moscrip found that, “It felt surreal visiting.” Many described visiting the memorial as an emotional experience.
Sun filtered through the trees near the memorial pools, but a chill filled the air. The breeze blew water from the pools like a light mist. But visitors still drew close to the pools to read the names of those who died on 9/11. They left flowers, flags, and mementos on the marble where the names are inscribed.
Some leave things that have significance to them on names at the 9/11 Memorial pools. Photo by Mesrur Khan.
Some visitors seemed surprised at the size of the memorial and how much was lost and destroyed. “I was nine or seven, so for me it was largely hard to comprehend in terms of scale. Seeing it now helps me understand that scale,” said Elliot Shuck from Texas.
Groups of firefighters and others wearing first responder gear huddled around the pools looking for names. Stands at the site sold caps with FDNY and NYPD logos, and tote bags with the phrase, “9/11 never forget.”
