9/11: 20th Anniversary (Non-Triggering)

PREFACE

Let me begin by saying I tried as best I could to avoid any photo that might be an overt trigger for some.  Therefore, there are no photos of falling towers, no jumpers, no explosions, etc.

The biggest obstacles were deciding what pictures to include and how to arrange them.  (The arranging aspect took a great deal longer than anticipated.)  I have attributions for all photos that had attributions – but quite a few of them did not.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a way to create GIFs that included attribution text.

A number of the photos are so unique that they defied grouping them, so I pulled them out and will scatter them throughout the post with some additional background on them.

I was fortunate to have visited the Observation Deck of the original WTC.  And later, with the new World Trade Center its twin Waterfall Pools that sit in the footprints of the North and South Towers of the original WTC.  (Sadly, the Museum was not completed at the time of my last NYC visit.)

So let’s begin our journey on a day that changed the world …

Chief of Staff Andy Card informs Pres. Bush that “America is under attack.”

Attrib.: Paul J. Richards

Vigils to honor those lost in the WTC Towers, first responders and their families began the evening of 9/11, and have continued around the world to this very day.

Memorials came in all manner of types, forms and locations, from NYC to all points north, south, east and west.

Virtually any vertical surface in Manhattan was soon covered with plaintive pleas from family and friends bearing photos and details about the Missing.

This is Marcy Borders, a 28 y/o legal assistant who worked in the North Tower.  She evacuated the Tower but was directed into the lobby of a nearby office building by a policeman to avoid the dust storm caused by the collapse of the South Tower.

(Just a refresher: While the North Tower [WTC 1] was struck first, the South Tower [WTC 2] fell first.)

Stan Honda is the photographer, and he visited Ms. Borders a year later.  But sadly she died of stomach cancer in 2015.

These are blood-stained shoes worn by Linda Lopez as she evacuated from the 97th floor of the South Tower.  When the first plane struck the North Tower, Lopez said the fireball from it felt like she was being burned.

Confusion was rampant, but she decided to evacuate.  She had only reached the 61st when she was thrown against a wall as the second plane crashed into the South Tower dozens of floors above her.

She took off her shoes to increase her departure speed and ran across broken glass.  After making it safely out, a few blocks away a stranger told her: “Lady – your feet are bleeding!”  She put her shoes back on, and they are now on display in the WTC Museum.

Attrib.: Lucas Jackson

 It was a time our nation stood united, and displays of patriotism were common, sincerely felt and carried no hidden agendas.  Flags were on display everywhere.

Of course, all means of public transportation were halted.

Attrib.: Ken Ruinard

And New Yorkers started the long trek to make it to home, family, friends or hotels – including walking across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Attrib.: Daniel Shanken

While Manhattan obviously was the epicenter of 9/11, it was not the only location the Saudis (NOT the Iraqis) had selected to attack.  And there are memorials at those locations also.

PENTAGON

SHANKSVILLE, PA: “Are you ready?  OK.  Let’s roll! “

The rural Pennsylvania hillside features both a wall and a carillon of wind chimes – “The Tower of Voices”

Obviously New Jersey was spared the physical assault, but being directly across the Hudson River from Manhattan, it bears scars also.

They built an attractive memorial called “Empty Sky” …

Attrib.: Zawhaus Photography

The walls creates a unique arc when reflecting the sunlight …

Attrib.: R. London

No doubt we all hope that in the not-too-distant future America will once again be able to re-capture that 9/11 spirit of Unity that emerged from a tragedy.

But it will take a towering light to lead us.

(Note: The man videoing the “Tribute of Light” with his tablet is Paul Marantz – the lighting consultant for the project.)

 

We can all hope that such a leader will once again emerge soon …