Thirteen Ways to Remember September 11th

Seven years have passed but the memories are still fresh. MSNBC showed footage from that terrible day in real time, this morning. I don't think it will ever be easy to watch. So, in honor of September 11th, I dedicate this week's Thursday Thirteen to the memory of that fateful day.

Thirteen Ways to Remember September 11th

1) Today is Patriot Day: September 11th was declared a holiday by President Bush and it's official name is "Patriot Day". I would love to see this day become a national holiday. No, not just another day for lounging on the couch, watching a game or hitting up a fabulous sale at the mall. I'd love to see it become a day of true remembrance, of true patriotism. Perhaps that patriotism and remembrance can come through community service and good deeds to others.

2) The Pentagon Memorial: American Airlines flight 77 hit The Pentagon and 184 people lost their lives. Now, the Pentagon has the first completed September 11th memorial and it was dedicated today. If you live in the DC area, it's open to the public beginning at 7PM tonight.

3) National September 11th Memorial and Museum: American Airlines flight 11 and United Airlines flight 175 hit the World Trade Center towers. Almost 3,000 people lost their lives. When this memorial is completed it will have mementos donated from the families of 9/11 victims. If you're interested, on the site there's a place where you can donate money that'll go towards defraying construction costs. I hope it becomes a place of true peace and permanently free from partisan politics.

4) Shanksville Memorial: Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania and 44 people lost their lives. A memorial is also being planned for the site and is scheduled to be dedicated in 2011.

5) Remembering the FDNY: Over 250 firefighters lost their lives in New York City on September 11th. You can view a beautiful tribute to them at the NYFD site. Also, the relics of St. Barbara, patron saint of firefighters were brought over to the FDNY from Italy for this year's anniversary.

6) Remembering the NYPD: Over 20 NYPD officers lost their lives in the line of duty in NYC. You can view the tribute and their names at the NYPD site.

7) Families of September 11th: I often think about the families of those who lost loved ones. I wonder how they feel, seven years later. I can't even imagine. However, this is an NGO founded in October, 2001, by the family members of victims of the terrorist attacks. It has two noble goals:
1) To support families and children by offering updated information on issues of interest, access to resources, relevant articles, and advocacy to raise awareness about the effects of terrorism and public trauma, and

2) To champion domestic and international policies that respond to the threat of terrorism including support for the 9/11 Commission Recommendations, and to reach out to victims of terror worldwide.

8) Iraq War Casualties: Over 4,000 soldiers have died in the Iraq War but we still haven't brought Osama bin Laden to justice. Still, our military is fighting and we should honor their efforts and their sacrifices. You can go sort this Iraq War Casualties site by ethnicity, by month. Here's a list of the names: 4,155 confirmed dead as of today.

9) 9-11 Commission: I've never read the actual text of the 9-11 Commission's report but I remember seeing those thick books at my local bookstores. Have any of you read it? If you're interested, click on the link.

10) CNN's September 11th: A Memorial site: CNN's site is very well done and very touching. It has information about each of the victims of September 11th. You can sort by name, employer, location, age or residence. Or, you can just view the memorial list in alphabetical order.

11) September 11th News: This site has so many photos and a complete news archive of all the events that took place seven years ago. In particular, the pages with photos of the international reaction to the tragedy are especially touching. The world was truly embracing this nation in such a loving and empathetic way.

12) Museum of Tolerance: If you're ever here in Los Angeles, go to the Museum of Tolerance. It's dedicated primarily to ending prejudice and much of it is dedicated to educating people about what happened in the Holocaust. That same hatred that created the Holocaust fueled the terrorists that committed such horrible acts seven years ago. That same hatred makes people in your city and mine murder those who are a different color or are a part of a different set. Can we each pledge to eradicate this hatred from our own hearts?

13) Remembering being on top of the World Trade Center: As I listen to the morning traffic whizzing by my window, I can't help but think about how it felt to stand on top of the observation deck of Two World Trade Center. None of us will ever do that again.

Two years ago, while poking around on YouTube, I came across a promo video that Depeche Mode shot in 1990 for their hit song "Enjoy the Silence". They filmed it on that observation deck and it's hauntingly beautiful. I posted the video last year on September 11th and feel compelled to share it again.




Watching it always makes me cry, but it helps me remember what once was.

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Comments

a beautiful tribute to a horrible day.

she
http://www.shebecameabutterfly.net
Anonymous said…
Seeing the towers still makes me cry. Thank you for sharing.


You can see my TT at http://www.besthomeschoolplace.com and leave a link there!
Shiona said…
Thanks for sharing all of this information. The memories are still fresh in my head as well. These sites have a lot of great information.
Anonymous said…
There was a programme on TV here a couple of days ago about the Marriott Hotel, how it was sliced in two by the falling towers, and how some people survived in one end of the hotel because it had been reinforced after the previous bombing. They talked to several of the survivors who were still very emotional about it all.

I also remember standing on top of the WTC in 1996, having no idea I would never do it again.
Jen said…
Wonderful post, Liz. Great links, too.
Bethany said…
What a wonderful tribute! Thanks for the reminder.
JO said…
hope it never happen again!

Here's my entry. Thanks!
Wow Liz. I had no idea DM shot a video there. It was so high up and yes the view was spectacular. I just felt uncomfortable going there from concerns about disaster preparedness. But it was beautiful. Esp on a hot day.
Too sad to say more than good thoughts and excellent sources to research.
thank Liz for this post. I still have a hard time thinking about that day.
Liz Dwyer said…
She became a butterfly,
Thanks for visiting. It was a truly, truly horrible day in history. I hope our world never has to witness such a thing again.

Christine,
It still makes me cry as well. Glad you came by my blog. I'll come pay you a visit too.

Shiona,
I keep thinking about how my seven year-old was only a baby when this happened. Now he's so grown up and goodness, it was really something to hear his thoughts about 9-11 after he got home from school.

Nick,
I can only imagine being a survivor of that. Like the quake in China, if the buildings are reinforced, they stay up, but the company has to be willing to spend the money to do so. We never know when everything we think we know about the world will change in an instant. I just want to see it changing for the better.

Jen,
Thanks. All the remembrance efforts of those directly impacted really helped me remember as well. It was really touching to see some of the children who were small when their parents were killed and now they're teenagers.

Bethany,
Glad you came over to visit. Putting together this list is really the least I could do. I felt like I should be doing more to remember than I did.

Jo,
I hope so too. I pray it never happens again. Thanks for visiting and leaving me a link to your site.

Faith,
Yes, isn't that video amazing? The official video is a classic but this one makes me cry, no kidding, every time I watch it. I didn't worry too much about a disaster when I was up there. I don't know why but I barely thought about it.

Heart,
I agree wholeheartedly and pray that it never happens again. It always makes me wonder, when will we learn our lesson and stop causing such suffering for each other?

NYC/CR,
I do as well. I remember how afraid I was, how in the months after that I was convinced something was going to happen here in LA... and I still worry about that every single day.

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