Reflections of September 11th, 2001

[fusilier23]

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the fateful 5th anniversary today represents, when the whole world was turned upside down and I escaped death only by a lucky phone call.

So much ink has been spilled that I won't spill more, save to give a song recently written to the tune "Raglan Road" about that day, and soon to be released on CD by Ronan Tynan. The singer in this case represents an FDNY captain, telling of his "last alarm."

The Dawning of the Day

This morning early I walked on
while my darling was in a dream
The last sweet days of summer bloomed
and dressed the trees in green
Then soaring high in the gleaming sky
from far across the bay
came a fearsome roar from a distant shore
at the dawning of the day

Then I called my men to follow me
knowing well that the view was dim
Though tired and worn, how they fought all morn'
as time was closing in
And my heart was sad though sore with pride
for brave lads all were they
As the angels fly, how they climbed so high
on the dawning of the day

But the edge is moving nearer now
inside the fading sun
and calling, calling out to them
my brothers, one by one
But only dust silence sounds
The ashes float away
as the twilight ends and the night descends
'til the dawning of the day

Forgive me love, I'm going now
so very far away
When darkness falls, only think me near
and do not be afraid
And please don't grieve when I am gone
Abide in what remains
'til the shadows end and we meet again
on the dawning of the day

For when shadows end,
we shall meet again
on the dawning of the day

[graemek]

Hi Fusilier,
Yes, a truly dreadful day that was. I was watching TV late news here about 11pm (East Coast Australia) & heard a report suddenly 'aircraft appears to have collided with one of the twin towers of the NY Trade centre'
I thought : Oh fog, bad visibility...accident.
And then it proceeded as we all know. It frightened the stuffing out of me to see an unheralded attack proceed like that on an iconic building complex & during a calculatedly busy time of day.
The sheer malice horrified me but I'm well used to regarding the world I live in & myself as 'fallen' .
I was alone at the time & my wife was asleep so I had noone to tell so I sat & watched & watched.I even felt awful for watching.
Ghoulish.
Worst thing I've watched on TV in my life. And I was merely an armchair spectator.
Thats enough now, but none of us dare forget it.
Graemek

[postscript]

A very ineresting and moving poem, Fuesillier23. Thank you for that sharing.

So, perhaps it is a matter of looking for an earlier post? But you expereinced a near disaster at that time did you?
Peter S.

[JOHN MCNEIL]

I know I am late, but being old and slow, I don't always get to this site; I can say that as an American 9/11 was a dreadful day.

But what is worse is the fact that psychologist and therapists within a few months after that terrible day, forced the networks not to talk about 9/11 or show pictures.

I am sorry, but I think we (both UK and America) should NEVER forget. Shortly after that terrible day, a beer commercial aired a beautiful ad which end with Clydesdale horses (sorry about the spelling) all knelt across the river from the site of the towers. IT was shown once, and a minority of people forced it off the air. I have a copy of it on my computer if anyone cares. It is a large file.

Basically my message is WE SHOULD NEVER FORGET,

John McNeil

[postscript]

Delighted to hear from you John and very worried about any form of interference in broadcasting independent editorials and journalistic freedom.

WE WILL NOT FORGET
Is both a plus and minus contribution to trying to maintain a higher level of life and human values. Here, on Remembrance Day for Two World Wars and all conflicts since we ring some changes to keep the freshness and relevance to modern day life-styles whilst maintaining the principle of the last 60-80years.

On a slightly different tack but related, I am beginning to worry about the UK TV's preoccupation with past glory regarding WWII and British and Hollywood's film repeats.

WE SHALL NOT FORGET is an important concept that can enhance the moving on. Mishandled it can become an anchor, preventing us from moving on.

Horses for Courses, I think. It is the nature of the celebration rather than necessarily the celebration itself, may I suggest?

Peter S.

[JOHN MCNEIL]

WE SHALL NOT FORGET is important. As I remember, there were quite a few deaths from the UK on 9/11. I hope none of us forgets that and how the UK has stood by us.

Thank you my friends from across the BIG Pond.

[postscript]

beaverisl said:

WE SHALL NOT FORGET is important. As I remember, there were quite a few deaths from the UK on 9/11. I hope none of us forgets that and how the UK has stood by us.

Thank you my friends from across the BIG Pond.

Thank you for that John. I for one am very happy either side of that same pond!

I just wish the plastic boat I play with in my bath could whisk me over when ever I wanted!
Peter S

[Joe]

Further reflections from this tragedy as seen on the Photography board.

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gene said:

Here are a few pictures of the 9-11 World Trade Center disaster in New York City, taken on September 15, four days after it happened. I drove up there to see what I could do to help. I'll never forget it. I've been back many times.

Taken from a park along the Hudson River


Candle memorial and directions for disaster relief


The NY Daily News


Hundreds of missing person posters everywhere

someone said:

Hi Gene... thank you for those photos. The last one is particularly poignant. It reminds us that everyone who died in 9/11 was somebody's father, mother, daughter, son, or friend. I commend you for going there to help.

Oksana

joe said:

Hello Gene...thanks for sharing your pictures from a few days after 9/11

roger said:

Gene, thank you for the photos from New York. It is a day that none of us will ever forget.

thomas said:

Gene, thank you for your NY pictures, especially the 9/11 photos. That was a very sad day.

[Joe]

Some more photos from Gene...

---

gene said:

On July 4 1976, America celebrated its Bicentennial. There were thousands of events throughout the country that day, but the most well-known was “Operation Sail”, held in New York Harbor. Old schooners, clipper-ships and warships from many countries participated in that event. Sailing in a straight line, one-by-one, the 2, 3 and 4-masted ships from around the world paraded down the Hudson River amidst thousands of other craft, in tribute to the nation’s 200th birthday.

I was very lucky that day because I saw the show from the 106th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. My friend’s father worked for the government and was able to get us a bunch of tickets to the indoor observation floor of that magnificent building. I was only a youngster then, but I remember it like it was yesterday. Below are some photos that my father took from the 106th floor of the North Tower as well as on the ground. I scanned these from transparencies, so the quality is very poor. But they do indeed, tell a story.


The Twin Towers, only 3 years young.


St. Paul's Church with the towers behind. It's pastor was one of the many persons killed. The church was used as a base of operations during the recovery efforts.


The North Tower. Each time that I visited, I would always place my chest against the outer skin of this magnificent structure and look straight up. It looked like a stairway to heaven.....


The 106th observation floor of the North Tower


The parade of tall ships down the Hudson, with hundreds of spectator craft.


From the 106th floor, with the Statue of Liberty in the background. The Statue is the perfect background for this event and for freedom everywhere, don't you think?


Looking down at the celebration. That's me, 32nd from the left....


One of the many tall ships, taken with a close-up lens


....and another.....


A salute to the ships from other nations


Be sure to come back again now.....


So many small craft enjoying the festivities.....


Looking DOWN on the Empire State in the background, taken from 106 floors high!


Watching and photographing....


The Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges from the 106th floor. May have been taken with a magnification lens. I've walked across the Brooklyn Bridge many times. It's an adventure in history. There are numerous plaques describing the construction of this historical landmark. If you visit the City, you should make it a point to walk across this structure. You will not regret it.


Note the little boy with the American Flag.....the best and the worst of America.....


A cross made of metal from the Twin Towers

thomas said:

Hi Gene!

Thank you for your pictures. The Twin Towers were indeed impresive! You were lucky to get free tickets for the observation floor.

Thomas

[Joe]

This reflection contains Gene's "letter to no one", a touching account told just four days after the terrorist attacks.

gene said:

I mentioned in an earlier post that I drove up to New York City 4 days after the 9-11 attack to see how I could help. I stayed the entire day, but there wasn't much that I could do. After I returned, I felt helpless, angry and discouraged. So I sat down a few days later and wrote a letter to no one. I suppose that it was a way of beginning my own healing process. After 7 years, I must tell you that the pain and anger still remains.
The letter to no one follows. A few related pictures also follow.

World Trade Center Disaster
I couldn't just sit around anymore. I needed to do something to help. So early Saturday morning on the 15th, just days after the horrible events at the World Trade Center, I drove up to Manhattan. Getting into the City that early in the morning was easy. Almost too easy. No traffic, no security at the Lincoln Tunnel, no one around. Although I was not allowed to get directly to the site, what I did see I will not forget.

I spoke with a number of people there including small shop owners, police officers, fire fighters and city residents. Most of the stories they told were not pleasant ones. I stopped in at a small diner just a block north of Canal Street to grab a cup of coffee and warm my spirits a little. The owner told me that while watching live TV coverage of the World Trade Center disaster as it was happening, one patron in the diner asked to use the telephone. It was while he was there on the telephone that he discovered his daughter was on the first airplane to hit the towers. He collapsed on the spot.

My best friend had left the subway station located under one of the towers just minutes before the first airplane hit. He saw everything from a block away, while working in another building. I spoke with him late that night, after he had just made it home. He is truly a changed man. He (and I) had just lost personal friends in the disaster. He witnessed people leaping to their deaths. His anger was very apparent. There was not a lot that I could do or say to make him feel any different, because I too, felt the same anger. It was his father, who in 1976 had obtained entry passes for both of us to be at the 106th floor of the North Tower during Operation Sail, where we watched all of the tall ships from other countries parade down the Hudson River in honor of our Bicentennial. What a view it was, from atop that magnificent building.

Missing person signs were everywhere…on mailboxes, lamp poles, buildings. Lighted candles, flower displays and other signs of grief and support were also prevalent. Large track vehicles were lined up one after another, on various city streets, in columns of three. By 8 AM, they started rolling out toward Ground Zero, like soldiers in a platoon. Flatbed trailers and dump trucks were transporting large chunks of steel to a closed landfill on Staten Island. Water, juices, food and other supplies were being handed out freely to the emergency personnel by volunteers. A high school marching band paraded down Canal Street to applause, playing The Star Spangled Banner and other patriotic music. TV reporters were taping news segments on the streets. A large gasoline station was closed because it was being used as a distribution point for food and emergency supplies. Police were everywhere. They seemed glad to answer questions and went out of their way to be kind and help, while at the same time not letting anyone get to the site except those with proper identification. You definitely got the feeling that there was a kind of universal unity and that everyone was there to help in any way possible. Emergency vehicles, sirens, flashing lights and all sorts of other activity never stopped throughout the day.

A burning layer of smoke lingered over the entire southern portion of the Island. The burning odor was actually worse in the Lincoln Tunnel, where apparently the fumes had collected over the past few days. A number of people volunteered to help, including myself. All of us were turned away. They already had too many.

On the way out of the City, I drove across the river to Liberty Park in Jersey City, which I had visited just a week earlier, before the terrorist attack. I had taken a ferry from the park to the Statue of Liberty and to Ellis Island. The park is now being used to collect the deceased and was therefore closed to the public. There was a large crowd near the park entrance and from there, you could clearly see the City skyline shrouded in smoke. Some of the people were crying.

Later, heading home on the Turnpike, I felt that I had just in a way, paid my respects to thousands of people. I wished that I could have done more.

G I - September 19, 2001


"Large track vehicles were lined up one after another, on various city streets, in columns of three".


A cloud of smoke covers the City


9 months after the attack. Cleanup is well underway. The 7 floors of the underground mall are clearly visible in the background. I shopped there frequently.


Memorial service on September 11, 2006. Large bells are struck when each name is called. I had the privilege of striking one of those bells.

andrew said:

Hi Gene,

Gene, many thanks for sharing your NY pictures with us - they're fascinating. Each one of those pictures captures a lot of information, expression and indeed time itself - all within a single frame...

Andrew

postscript said:

Gene, a very interesting set of pictures.

grant said:

Hi Gene

I am very pleased that you decided to post your 'letter to no one' about the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre. I think it is the first time I have actually read a personal account and it immediately brought me to tears.

It seems that it was one of those occassions where everyone felt the need to go and help in some way and even though you were not able to physically help, I'm sure being nearby and talking to people would have helped both them and you.

It seems fitting that you did eventually get to do something by being privileged to ring one of the bells at the 2006 Memorial Service.

Thank you again Gene for sharing.

Best wishes
Grant

gene said:

Thanks Oksy, Joe, Roger, Thomas, Paddy, Dave, Andrew, Peter and anyone that I've missed for your comments.

Grant, a special thanks to you for your heartfelt comments. I was, and still continue to be, very moved by the events of 9-11. Up to this point, my "letter to no one" has been shown to only very few people. It was originally written for myself...so that I could remember what it was like back then and perhaps as a way of coping with my anger and grief. I have not looked at it in years, but decided to post it in this forum when I saw the pictures of New York posted by others. I'm not certain why....perhaps because I do not want people to forget.

An old friend of mine was killed when he ran out of the North tower after it was hit. Just as he got out, he looked up and was immediately struck by a piece of falling glass and died instantly. One of his co-workers witnessed it from inside the lobby. The co-worker panicked and immediately bolted from the building. He survived.

I talked to many people on September 15 and in subsequent visits to the City, including police officers who needed to talk, to vent. Everything that I heard was horrible. I remember one police officer simply walked up to me and just started talking. I didn't know her and she didn't know me. She told me that she was initially assigned to secure the areas where the body parts were being taken. After 2 days of that, she asked to be re-assigned. She also told me that they had found the intact body of one of the female flight attendants on the roof of a nearby building....with her hands still tied behind her back. This is how the investigators discovered that the air crew had been tied up by the terrorists. Some stories that were told to me were so brutal that I still have bad dreams about them....and I will not talk about them here.

I am not ashamed to tell you that driving back home on September 15, 2001, my eyes were never dry.

Thanks again for your comments,
Gene

petertong said:

Hi Gene,

I just wanted to say I really appreciate your postings on 9/11...

blessings,
Peter T.

[/size]

[Joe]

gene said:

Here are a few more of the photos taken on September 15, 2001, that inspired me to write my "letter to no one". The last two pictures were taken in 2002 and 2006.


"By 8 AM, they started rolling out toward Ground Zero, like soldiers in a platoon".


This is the marching band that I referred to in my letter. Note the two band members carrying symbolic shovels, just behind the flag bearer.


This is the gas station that I mentioned in my letter to no one. It was one of the distribution points for food and medical supplies.


Police and fire responders were everywhere.


"Lighted candles, flower displays and other signs of grief and support were also prevalent".


One of many memorials to the deceased. Photo taken in 2002.


Note the license plate on this Cadillac, parked at Ground Zero. This photo was taken in 2006, during the anniversary memorial service.

joe said:

Hello Gene...

Many thanks for sharing your photos and words related to the 9/11 tragedy.

Many people from Pennsylvania were affected that day, as many commuters had just made the trip into work inside the towers.

I do have a photo of my brother and I, which I believe was taken inside one of the towers around 1984.

The photo has a reflection of the unique curve structure near the base of the towers (where the narrow metal beams becomes wider)...

May I use your photo to explain this...



Joe

gene said:

You are very welcome, Joe. I'm very glad that you and your brother were able to see the towers. They were certainly beautiful, inside and out.

Regards,
Gene

grant said:

Thank you for the additional pictures Gene.

They are a very poignant reminder of a terrible day in everyone's lives.

Best wishes
Grant

thomas said:

Hi Gene!

Thank you for your very moving "letter to no one". You're very welcome to post it and share you feelings about this tragedy.

Best wishes,
Thomas

david said:

Hi Gene,

Your "letter to no-one" is very poignant and deeply moving to read, thank you for sharing it with us here. I must admit whenever I see pictures or watch archived news reports from that day I still find myself getting quite emotional, as if it only happened last week.

Thanks again, and best wishes

David

someone said:

Gene,

I had missed your 'letter to no one' because I'll admit I don't read text on this thread as much as I look at the photos. However, I've gone back and read your post, and it is really touching. Thank you for posting it on HWI. Through sharing your experience with us, you've given us a different, more personal view of everything that happened on 9/11, something we couldn't get from the news stories... it's so important to raise awareness through words and photos this way.

Oksy

gene said:

Thanks to all of you who were kind enough to comment on my recent posts. It certainly helps to know that my "Op' Sail" pictures, my 9-11 photos and my "letter" may have helped you to perhaps see a different perspective regarding the WTC attack. I'll be visiting Ground Zero again soon and I'll post additional pictures.

Regards to all, Gene

[/size]

[Joe]

Hello Gene,

I trust you will agree that having all of your photos here, coupled with our replies, make a better tribute.

The World Trade Center always meant something special to me. I remember learning from school that the Twin towers' ribbon-cutting ceremony was less than a month after my twin brother and I were born.

My family and I attended the OpSail event in New York City on July 4, 2000 and our bus travelled past the World Trade Center, up to the USS Intrepid (an aircraft carrier used in the second World War and later). So many kind police officers helped us through the busy traffic and security checkpoints. God Bless them.

Joe

[Gene]

joe said:

Hello Gene,
I trust you will agree that having all of your photos here, coupled with our replies, make a better tribute.
My family and I attended the OpSail event in New York City on July 4, 2000 and our bus travelled past the World Trade Center, up to the USS Intrepid (an aircraft carrier used in the second World War and later). So many kind police officers helped us through the busy traffic and security checkpoints. God Bless them.
Joe

Many thanks, Joe. I don't know how you did it, but it's a super transposition job! Great title for the thread too. I'm glad that you and your family got to see Op Sail in NYC in 2000. I didn't make that one. But I've seen the Intrepid numerous times. I think that it's currently being refurbished. As far as the NYC police officers, I've had many pictures taken with groups of them. They are always willing to accommodate and the pics are usually quite funny. Perhaps I'll post a few of them.
Thanks again and best regards, Gene.

[grant]

Hi Joe

My thanks from me also for putting everything together in one thread. I think it is very fitting that we should have a thread specifically for this terrible tragedy.

I think your choice of title for the thread is excellent and could not be expressed better.

Best wishes
Grant

[Gene]

I had the opportunity to visit Ground Zero today. Construction is progressing, but has a very long way to go. Here are some pictures:


Part of the City as seen from New Jersey, across the Hudson River. The small, crescent-shaped building behind the yacht of the left is the entrance to the World Financial Center. Ground Zero is immediately behind this building and the domed-shaped building just left of center.


This is Ground Zero as viewed from the observation windows on the other side of the World Financial Center Building (the small, crescent-shaped structure in the previous photo).


Ground Zero, looking southeast.


Any guesses on what this might be?


Part of the City skyline from New Jersey, across the Hudson. That's the Empire State, left-center.