The National September 11 Memorial and Museum opens May 21 to the public, but relatives of those who died, survivors, and political figures gathered last Thursday for a special dedication ceremony in New York City.
Those directly affected by the day were allowed a preview of the new memorial site — now filled with objects recovered from the site almost 13 years ago. It also honors those who lost their lives at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania.
This is “The Final Column” in Foundation Hall — it was the last column recovered at the World Trade Center site after the attack.
These are two tridents from the original World Trade Center.
This is a piece of the radio tower from the North Tower. The wall behind it features a quote from Virgil:
“No day shall erase you from the memory of time.”
The 2,983 blue panels panels surrounding the quote symbolize each victim of the attacks.
The dedication ceremony included a moving speech from President Obama, and others shared stories of courage from the tragic day.
“Here we tell their story so that generations yet unborn will never forget.”
This picture captures 24-year-old Welles Crowther and his mother. President Obama talked about Crowther’s courage as he led survivors to the stairs for safety in one of the towers. He lost his life when he went back to save others.
One of his red bandanas is now on display in the museum. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, former New York Mayors Michael Bloomberg and Rudolph Giuliani, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and the Clintons were also in attendance.
New York City firefighters were there, too.
And so were the first responders who were on the scene of the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Hundreds of others looked on from the World Trade Center Plaza outside, where the ceremony was broadcast on large screens.
The memorial aims “to bear solemn witness to the terrorist attacks” through 12,500 objects and 580 hours of film and video. Tickets are now on sale. All photos courtesy of Newscom.