9/11: Looking back 20 years

 

I'm sharing a post I wrote in honor of 9/11 in 2010.  It's the most thorough one I ever wrote, I believe.  I've also included thoughts from 2016, where I shared my 15 year remembrance.  I end with the total cost of lives today that were lost up to 20 years after the attacks.

I want to begin by paying tribute to 9/11, the deadliest terrorist attack in world history and the most devastating foreign attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  While 2,996 people were killed that day, 2,605 were U.S. citizens, including 2,135 civilians. Three hundred seventy two were non-U.S. citizens.  Among those who died, 67 individuals were from the UK, 47 from the Dominican Republic, and 41 from India.  In total, more than 90 countries lost citizens in the four attacks.  This is truly a global remembrance, and one we should never, ever forget.  As long as I have a blog and am cognizant, I will try to remember to pay tribute to those who died on that day 15 20 years ago today.

Like anyone in the USA who was over the age of five, memories of what started out as a perfect September day in 2001 will stay with you forever. I decided to share something very personal: memories of that day nine years ago, along with memories of my visit to the World Trade Center using images I found on the internet since my relevant photos are stored away in non-acid free boxes in my always damp basement. You should click on these to get the full picture, since they load from each original site's link.

When I woke on September 11, 2001, I wasn't thinking about checking my blog, or checking my friends blogs (what in the world was a BLOG?), but of the day at hand. I had made an appointment with my financial institution to refinance my home. As I was getting dressed, I happened to turn on the Today Show and

saw the North Tower on fire, sometime after 8:46 AM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The moderators talked about checking out what had happened, then went to commercial. Not long after they came back online, and while their cameras were still focused on the twin towers,

a second plane showed itself in the distance and crashed into the South Tower at 9:03 AM EDT. I had little time to see what was happening as I prepared for my appointment at 9:00 am CDT. On the way to the bank,

I remembered the time I visited the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, probably the most famous of the 5 boroughs that make up NYC and the many views I saw from the Observation Deck located on the roof of the South Tower which I got to from two escalators from the enclosed Observation Room directly below the Observation Deck.

I remembered starting the day early, finding a parking garage, and walking to the plaza

with the beautiful fountain that was situated between the two towers.

It was the day before the date on my ticket to the Statue of Liberty, and I was excited to get the lay of the land from a bird's eye view. This could well be the Lady Liberty ferry that took me to the Statue the following day. It was also the day of my reservation to Windows on the World, the gorgeous and well appointed restaurant located in the North Tower (the one with the antenna). I remembered how excited I was when I received confirmation of my reservation to this oh-so-lovely and well appointed restaurant.  At that time, all correspondence was done by snail mail.

What struck me most was the gold and shining lobby. While waiting for the elevator to take me to the Top of the World Observation Deck in the South Tower, I remembered taking photos of myself in the reflection of the gold elevator doors.

And then my mental images were gone, like evaporation of dew on a hot summer morning.

All this drama was playing out on TV while I was driving in traffic or working my way to the third floor of the bank.

Although I had no idea what was going on outside the loan officer's office, we talked about the attacks while he looked up interest rate options. He was curious as to "why today?" I've often questioned the significance of the date, myself.

We continued to talk as he gave me loan options. As I was pointing out which option I wanted, someone from his office (maybe a secretary/assistant, or whatever they are called now days) knocked and entered. She told him the computer system had just been shut down and no transactions were possible, due to potential computer and financial attacks. She also stated the financial district had been shut down, including the Stock Exchange. The loan officer even tried to get the loan I was planning to sign back on his screen, but it was useless. His computer was now nothing more than a fancy paperweight holding down his lovely mahogany desk. That was when I realized I would not get my loan changed that day.

Instead of immediately driving home, I walked out to the street. I was surprised by all the police, National Guard, and other uniformed officers who were on the street. As I stood by the bank parking lot, I caught sight of at least six officers on one side of the street and four on the bank side. What a difference an hour made!

When I got home, one of my neighbors was standing in her yard. She walked over and told me that both towers had collapsed. Both towers had fallen? How could that be?

More memories flooded my still shocked brain. What about the lovely Windows on the World restaurant on the 106th floor of the North Tower where I had lunch that day over 20 years ago (as of today 2010, not 2001)? I remembered lunch consisted of a lovely soup and well appointed salad, far more food than I could possibly eat at the time. Needless to say, as these memories of crisp white napkins and beautiful tablescapes resurfaced, I was SHOCKED.

(First image above from CNN. Panorama images from 360 Cities that do not enlarge. All other images above from http://www.greatbuildings.com, ABC News Photos, or September 11 News.)

In the days after the attack, I sat and watched, as I'm sure many Americans did) as the events unfolded and the towers collapsed in front of my eyes over and over and over.

I watched as those elegant stairs in the South Tower I remembered climbing to reach the elevator to the observation deck, and now nearly unidentifiable, were climbed by rescue workers in hopes of finding survivors.



I watched as Fire Fighters formed bucket lines to remove debris or search for their lost "brothers."

And today (EDIT: 2016) I'm watching as I find images I've never before seen of wreckage from the World Trade Center that was taken to the Fresh Kills landfill.

According to the caption under this Time Magazine photo:

More than 65,000 personal items were recovered from Ground Zero, including 144 rings, 437 watches, 119 earrings and 80 bracelets.

Possibly the most bizarre photo I found, also from Time Magazine, was this one above of identification cards belonging to Blue Cross and Blue Shield employees found during the screening of debris at Fresh Kills. The fact that so many people burned to death in both towers when the planes ripped the buildings apart, then the fires burned for over 12 weeks after the collapse, it seems odd that bits of plastic, although deformed, would make it through all that heat and devastation.

Some of the images that came from that horrific day must have taxed photographers, both amateur and professional. I am grateful to those who have chosen to share their photos on the internet. (The last set of photos above are from various photographers at Time Magazine photo essays.)

I found images at several sites. I know there are many more. Here are the sites I linked the above images from:

CNN.com

Mail Online.co.uk

Time Magazine.com (no longer available)

360 Cities (has had interactive panorama views, including Ground Zero photos, but they don't appear to be available)

And lest we forget, two more planes, their passengers, and crews, also perished that day. Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon at 9:38 EDT and Flight 93 crashed into an empty field at 10:06 EDT. 

There were personal stories, too.  I remember a husband and wife were news reporters at the same station in Wichita, KS.  In fact, they met there and were married before I moved to town.  They left Wichita shortly after I moved here.  Both took jobs at the same station in NYC. The morning of the 11th, she was live on air and he was in the field when it happened. I remember our local station where they had previously worked picked up the feed and decided to show it to honor them. When the first tower fell, she asked if he was OK. Silence. More asking if he was OK. By this point, she forgot where she was and instinct took over. You could hear the fear and desperation in her voice as she tried to reach her husband in the field, not really realizing (or probably caring) that she was on air. Several hours later he checked in at the station. He had been caught in one of the waves of debris that rolled along the streets near the falling towers. He had ducked into a shoe store to get out of the debris and flying dust.  It just shows how even professionals have real lives that were deeply affected that day. 

Let's also remember the many expectant mothers who lost their husbands in the towers that day.  How do they explain to their child that their father was a hero, or a victim of the attackers?  Those unborn children are now either 19 or 20.  How do they feel about what happened and how do their fathers' deaths affect them?  It is not just a single generational problem after all. 

I can't begin to imagine the stress put on the 911 operators in NYC that day. Although they are taught to remain calm, it must have been difficult to do so when they realized there was nothing they could do to help or send aid to those who were calling.  

Please remember how lucky we are to be alive regardless where we live, while sharing our sadness for those 2977 frightened, unwilling, unknowing, or uncooperative souls who perished on this dark day in US history. Let's also remember their families who survived and are still deprived of their loved ones. 

In case my number seems a bit different from what I shared at the beginning of this post, it's because 2996 persons were known to have died that day in the four attacks, a number which includes the 19 hijackers.  Forgive and forget is a hard pill to swallow on this day of remembrance.

There are also those left behind.  The loved ones of these people who perished must never be forgotten, either.  Some first responders who weren't on duty feel survivors guilt and suffer PTSD, just like those who have been in war.

 Firefighters who were off duty at the time rushed to the scene to look for their fallen brothers.  Rescue workers referred to Ground Zero as "The Pile" because the term ground zero refers to a bomb's epicenter.

In the days after the attack, bucket brigades were set up to search for survivors.  Only 20 people were found alive in the debris, the last 27 hours after the attack.

What were the health costs to those who joined that search and those who lived near the World Trade Center?  Many rescue workers and volunteers at ground zero suffered extensive health problems related to their exposure to the dust and debris of the Twin Towers.  It’s estimated two million tons of dust containing cement, asbestos, glass, lead, PCBs, and other known carcinogens rained down on lower Manhattan.  Burning flesh sickened many who continued to search for survivors.  For many of those who worked on the rescue and recovery at ground zero their medical problems are due to the air they breathed at the site.  Most of those men and women are now dead, their deaths traced back to the air they breathed while they volunteered at Ground Zero.  Although the government claimed they offered respirators to the volunteers, very few remember it that way.  Therefore, we must add those names and numbers to the cost that day, even though they are "hidden costs."

Death by suicide was not uncommon, either.  Many who died were not counted as part of the growing numbers of deaths associated with that day.  However, it is a well known fact that many felt guilt about surviving when their fellow officers died. When they could no longer cope, gave in to suicide.  This was even more prevalent for those who tried to save their fellow citizens and/or loved ones.  Despondency about that day may have also contributed to suicides in the NYC area.  Seeing the towers fall on TV, over and over again probably caused some to take their lives.  That's another "hidden cost."

Finally, let's look at a cost some may not have considered or want to admit.  This is a Marine who was on duty at the time of the attacks.  He served his country with pride.  Sadly, he is also a Muslim-American.  I say "sadly," because so many of these soldiers were called names like "terrorist" or "traitor" to their faces by the men next to whom they served. 

 

How can we call ourselves "Americans" when we can't even accept our fellow brothers and sisters?  We feel such empathy for the little white girl who lost her father at the Pentagon, but we accept the fact we can't look at an Arab-American or Muslim American and not worry s/he has a vest with a bomb under his/her jacket.  Although "religious profiling" was bubbling under the surface in the years before the 9/11 attacks, 9/11 not only brought it to the surface, it gave this religious racial hatred a voice.  Yet another "hidden cost."  

 

Unfortunately, we may never know the true number of people who died as a result of these four attacks.  The actual attack numbers are obvious.  They are recorded for all of us to see.  I've posted them more than once in this blog post, too.  However, there are the men and women who died over the years due to carcinogens they inhaled while working on the Pile at Ground Zero, or who lived near the area, those who committed suicide that can be linked to one or more of the four attacks, and the many Muslim-Americans who were beaten or run out of town due to the attacks.  Those numbers are far harder to find and collate.

 

Now let's look at a few memes from that day.  It seems that not just the United States mourned this loss, but it affected serious cartoonists around the world as well.

 

 

Perhaps I saved the best for last.

And finally, I am well aware that today is a very sad day for many of us who live in the U.S. and elsewhere who were affected by these attacks.

I called this abstract I painted in 2014, "8:25 am EDT."   

The title reflects the time a mere 20 minutes before the North Tower was hit by the hijacked passenger jet American Airlines Flight 11 on 9/11/2001.  It was a warm, cloudless day filled with hope and promise.  20 minutes later, many lives were forever changed.  I tried to show the positive of this day, hoping the memories aren't too painful for those of you who visit.  

As I made this piece, I cried.  I cried when I loaded it onto blogger the first time.  I've never had anything affect me so radically, even though I live nowhere near NYC.  It was created as a tribute, not out of sadness, but honor and remembrance.

This piece is 8" X 10" (20,32 cm X 25,4 cm). 

 

There have been four United States presidents since 9/11.  Today, former president George W. Bush will visit the Shanksville, PA memorial. Former president Barack Obama will visit the National 9/11Memorial Tower and Museum in NYC.  President Joe Biden will visit all three sites (the Pentagon in Arlington County, VA, 9/11 Memorial, and the Shanksville Memorial) hit on this date 20 years ago.  That's what real presidents do!

 

Feel free to share your 9/11 memories. After all, if you made it this far, you read mine!