In New York City with Jasmine – 9/11 Memorial – Photography, Images and Cameras

I’d been to the memorial before, back in October 2013: (See: New York 9/11 Memorial).

The 9/11 Memorial is no ordinary tourist attraction. We were enjoying the sights and sounds of New York City but once we stepped on “Ground Zero” the laughter and chatter ceased. We were fellow mourners paying our respects. The 9/11 attacks killed 2,977 people from more than 90 countries. Everyone over the age of twenty still remembers where they were on September 11, 2001. How could you visit New York and not feel compelled to see where most of 9/11 occurred?

The 9/11 Memorial opened exactly ten years after the attacks. There are two pools set in the foundation of the former twin towers. Thirty-foot waterfalls – described in the brochure as the largest in North America – pour into the pools and then vanish in the center.

The names of every victim are inscribed in bronze around the pools. Not in alphabetical order as you would expect but based on “layers of meaningful adjacencies” that reflect where victims were on 9/11 or as relationships with others killed. To find specific names you go online or use a nearby electronic directory. Each name has a symbol beside it. For example: S-50 means South Pool, panel 50.

As I leaned over the wall to gaze at the waterfall, I couldn’t help but rub my hand over the engraved names and pronounce each one out loud. There were miniature American flags embedded in the lettering of a few. Some of the names were familiar. Like many churches, ours regularly listed the names to pray for their families.

Surrounding the pools are many precisely placed trees planted with the purpose of adding a sense of peace and serenity. All but one are Swamp White Oaks. But a solitary pear tree is the “Survivor Tree.” Badly damaged, near death, the tree was discovered by workers shortly after the tragedy and nursed back to health. The “Survivor Tree” is now over 30 feet tall and stands as a testimony to the fortitude of he survivors that is such an important part of the 9/11 story.