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VOL. 79,
NO. 35
9/11 terrorist attacks commemorated 20 years later America’s collective efforts to learn to live with trauma partly explain why there is a Sept. 11 memorial in so many cities Terry MILLER tmiller@beaconmedianews.com
T
his September 11 indeed will be one of foremost historic consequence. The 20th anniversary of the attacks by Al Qaeda is further charged by the recent tumultuous close to the U.S.’s military involvement in Afghanistan. In what can only be described as overwhelming, America and her allies sent thousands of troops overseas to find those responsible for the World Trade Center attacks that ended the lives of nearly 3000 American citizens on a crisp September morning in New York. The terrorists were “evil-doers,” President George W. Bush said soon after the attacks, and fighting them was “a new crusade.” September 11 was the “Pearl Harbor” that justified the extended military involvement in the Middle East. The startling and utterly horrific images of two hijacked commercial jets headed directly into each tower of the WTC within minutes of one another will forever be embedded in our collective memory. The terror of the attacks and aftermath is etched into the very soul of America and subsequently tested the resilience of the world. There was no air traffic within hours of the attacks; the usually bustling air traffic around New York was silent. The world was in a state of
World Trade Center, New York, Sept. 28, 2001. | Photos by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
shock. This reporter flew to New York two weeks after the attacks as soon as commercial air traffic was allowed again following the destruction of the twin towers — my father was undergoing brain cancer treatment at Bellevue hospital in Manhattan. Aboard my flight to JFK were firefighters, medics as well as search and rescue men and women who volunteered to assist with the massive job at the World Trade Center. Additionally, there was a welcome presence of air marshals on all flights
after the attacks. Upon landing and entering New York city, I was profoundly moved to see thousands of missing persons’ photos pasted all over lower Manhattan. Thousands of desperate pleas from friends and family members yearning for any information about those missing as a result of the attacks. The massive undertaking of removal of rubble and twisted metal was just beginning in mid-late September. The National Guard assisted NYPD with keeping the crime scene secure with very limited
access. Firefighters had spraypainted nearby buildings they searched with orange codes indicating they had checked for people who may have been buried in the wreckage. The massive dust and grey rubble were ever-present in storefronts surrounding lower Manhattan – a truly apocalyptic image. Dazed New Yorker’s walked slowly, silently through the empty streets as if in a trance. The brisk New York air was stagnant, clotted with the smell of aviation fuel combined with dust and rubble from what was
dubbed Ground Zero after the 19 hijackers hit the Twin Towers. Affiliated with the militant Islamist group Al-Qaeda, those nineteen men hijacked four commercial airlines loaded with fuel for cross country flights, to carry out a terrorist attack on the United States orchestrated by Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The massive amounts of smoke-filled dust spilled all over lower Manhattan and placed an eerie film noir lens over the scene. The fences surrounding St. Paul’s Cathedral, which is a stone’s throw
from Ground Zero, became a shrine for those who lost their lives replete with thousands of names printed on enormous murals placed along the fences; flags from all over the world strategically placed with intense messages of sympathy and desperation. Firefighters from around the world placed t-shirts from their respective departments atop the fences of St. Paul’s in solidarity with the firefighters and all first responders who perished on 9/11. See Terrorist Attacks page 2