Paul & Tara Visit the National Parks: 9/11 Memorial & Museum

Visited: July 2024

New York City, NY

"If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate."

-Sandy Dahl, wife of Flight 93 pilot Jason Dahl

September 11, 2001.

I was a freshman in college at the University of Arizona in Tucson. I was getting ready to head to my early morning English class when my roommate burst out of his room saying that we needed to turn on the news. As I turned the TV on, the first image I saw was a replay of the second plane ramming into the World Trade Tower, followed by a huge fireball and a gigantic plume of smoke. I did not know what was going on or what to do. Stunned, I simply left my apartment thinking "I'm going to be late for class." Most of the students in class that morning did not know what had happened, the teacher certainly did not (remember, this was the age before smart phones), but there were many absences. As word spread, classes were eventually cancelled for the day. It seems like my friends and I then watched the news for nearly 48 hours straight, trying to process what had happened and what the future would hold.

Here we are, nearly 25 years later, and we are still trying to process the tremendous tragedy that befell the nation.

On July 4, 2024, Tara and I visited New York City for the first time and went to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum to learn about the terrorist attacks, their devastating toll, pay respect to those who lost their lives, and to read of the countless acts of bravery displayed on that fateful day.

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum in lower Manhattan was opened in 2011 to remember and honor the nearly 3,000 men, women, and children who were killed.

The Memorial consists of two large pools (that occupy the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood). The waterfalls of the pool help mute the sounds of the city, and lend the site a contemplative mood and reflective air. Surrounding the pools are large plaques, inscribed with the names of the 2,977 victims of the September 11 attacks that lost their life that day (in NYC, the Pentagon, and the passengers and crew of Flight 93 - which ultimately went down in a field near Shanksville, PA) and also the six who died in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.

this pear tree is dubbed the "Survivor Tree"

It was badly burned in the attack, and was left with only one living branch. It was moved to a nursery in the Bronx shortly after the attack, where is began to flourish and regrow. It was moved back to the World Trade Center site in 2010. It stands today as a symbol of hope and rebirth.

We then went to the museum. The museum contains 40,000 images, 14,000 artifacts, 3,500 audio recordings, and over 500 hours of video documenting the events.

One could spend days here and still not get through everything, but I would recommend watching the introductory video at the visitor's center and spend at least 2-3 hours in the museum itself. It was very heavy and somber. It's almost overwhelming, but, ultimately, a necessary visit.

the "Last Column" is a large steel beam that was the final piece of debris removed from Ground Zero, marking the formal end of the nine-month recovery effort.

to the left is the slurry wall of the "Bathtub" - the retaining wall around the Twin Towers.

the Survivor's staircase.

This staircase was the last visible remaining original structure above ground level at the World Trade Center site. It was moved to this location in 2010.