On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, New Yorkers and people from around the world converged in a spectacle of hope and grief at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
For Jim and JoAnn Trembath of Monte Sereno, California, the 8-acre National September 11 Memorial & Museum, which now occupies the site where the original Twin Towers once stood at the center of the new 16-acre World Trade Center complex, is a symbol of America’s resilience.
Standing west of the north reflecting pool on the plaza on Thursday, the couple, both in their 80s, recalled being at home getting ready for work when they saw the first plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center on TV at 8:46 a.m. Jim knew something was wrong after United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower 17 minutes later.
“I told JoAnn this is not an accident. This is terrorism,” he told The Christian Post.
When they traveled to New York two months later, the couple was devastated by what they saw.
“St. Paul’s Church was covered with ash. Not a growing thing. It was desolate,” Jim said, explaining how Manhattan’s oldest surviving church building became a staging point for emergency services in the aftermath of the attack.
He recalled waiting in a line of thousands of people looking for family members at ground zero that had been fenced in by then.
“You walked along the fencing; there were all these notes, ‘Have you seen my dad?’ trying to locate people. We could still see smoke coming from the site. It was very emotional,” he said.
Though they have returned to Lower Manhattan several times since the terrorist attacks, the couple agree that life has changed significantly over the last 25 years.
“We have been back to see the museum, and we wanted to be here for the 25th anniversary,” Jim said. “This is a beautiful memorial.”
Nearby at the historic St. Paul’s Chapel, multiple groups of tourists gathered on the grounds with guides to learn how it became a place of refuge in the aftermath of the attacks. Some later milled inside through security to view a large-scale origami exhibit called "Ever Present,” which features 2,977 paper cranes, honoring the 2,977 people who were killed on 9/11.
The cranes, in four shades of blue, hang from the church ceiling in the shape of an infinity symbol.
Brooklyn resident and content creator Walter Douglas, who was just 2 years old when the terrorist attacks happened, said he learned about the event from his parents and in school, but he understood the event differently after he volunteered to participate in bringing the “Ever Present” exhibit to life.
Douglas said when he first heard about the exhibit, he spoke to the artist behind it, Talo Kawasaki.
“I talked to the guy before we made it, and he said cranes basically show that we are setting people free,” Douglas said. The artist also explained that the blue chosen for the cranes was a reflection of the sky and peace.
“Loss hurts, but at the same time it feels different. The best way to explain it is that I’m grateful I was able to participate in doing the crane [exhibit], and I’m able to show my love and care that we are united. It’s a reminder that we stick together no matter what,” Douglas said. “Even though we lost a lot of people, I know they are in a better place.”
Douglas says he is now using his social media to educate younger generations of Americans about the terrorist attacks.
For Colombier Yan, of France, who was also inside St. Paul’s Chapel viewing the exhibit with his wife, the 9/11 terrorist attacks were a global event that shocked the world.
“It’s an international memory for all people,” he said, noting the strong relationship between the United States and France.
At St. Peter’s Church, New York's oldest Catholic parish, church staff and a team from the Port Authority that lost 84 employees in the 9/11 terrorist attacks prepared for a memorial mass and a special service honoring the dead.
“It’s 25 years. We’ve [been doing] this every year for 25 straight years. It will be a gathering of people who are retired, families, people who were affected. We all gather as an agency here,” a Port Authority representative who did not wish to be named told CP.
Asked for his thoughts on the recovery of the area, he said, “It’s certainly come a long way in 25 years.”
“It’s vibrant. It has a lot of people; it’s more alive. Now that a lot of construction has been happening over the years, coming back to the campus is a good thing,” he said. “It’s definitely apparent for our agency because that was our home base and we lost a lot of people.”
One St. Peter’s Church parishioner and Lower Manhattan resident since 1992 told CP that he wasn’t interested in symbolism without accountability.
“It’s just an outrageous situation that it [9/11] occurred,” he said, asking not to be identified.
“I’m not willing to forgive or to forget. I’m not going to do that. If government leaders today, [former President] George W. Bush wants forgiveness from me, he has to hope for dementia for me,” he continued. “I want people to be held accountable. Government has to be held accountable. That’s the most important thing.”
Originally published by The Christian Post
