An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir February 2015 www.dfmagazine.ie 8 | by LT COL DAN HARVEY, OSCE HQ VIENNA september 11 O ut of a crystal clear blue sky, early on Tuesday morning September 11, 2001, nineteen Islamist extremists associ- ated with al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial aeroplanes with the intention of deliberately crashing them into carefully se- lected targets. The 'planes were to be used as weapons to destroy major landmarks symbolising America's economic (World Trade Centre), military (Pentagon) and political (Washington DC) way of life. After passengers on the fourth hijacked 'plane learned about the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, their bold attempt to retake Flight 93 led to the 'plane crashing into an empty field in western Pennsylvania instead of its intended Washington DC target, which is believed to have been either the White House or the Capitol. The 9/11 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and of those more than 400 were first-responders who died in the line of duty. It is es- timated that two billion people, nearly a third of the world's popu- lation, followed parts of the events of 9/11 as they were unfolding. On the tenth anniversary of the attacks, on September 11, 2011, the National September 11 Memorial in New York was opened with a dedication ceremony for the families of those who died. The next day the memorial opened to the public, and it welcomed one mil- lion visitors before the end of 2011. The memorial occupies half of the World Trade Centre site. Two reflecting pools sit in the footprints of the former twin towers - voids where those massive skyscrapers once stood. The entrance to the 9/11 Museum, opened in May 2014, is between the two pools. Hugely impressive and moving to visit at any time of the day, at dusk the memorial is transformed by light shining up from the pools and reflecting on the names of the victims engraved on surrounding nameplates. The darkening sky is reflected in the glass facades of the museum and surrounding buildings. The museum itself is located below ground were remnants of the original World Trade Centre buildings are still visible and preserved. Having entered on the museum's concourse level a ramp leads to the original foundation level of the Twin Towers where the exhibitions are located. An excavation reveals box-column remnants of the towers anchored to the bedrock. The exhibitions are comprised of three presentations: Part 1 presents the events of 9/11, showing how the normality of a beautiful day was overtaken by shock and increasing horror as Americans came to realise they were under attack; Part 2 chronicles the events leading up to 9/11, including the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing; Part 3 covers the immediate aftermath of the attacks through to the present. The 9/11 Memorial and Museum is built on a huge scale but then 9/11 is a huge story, after all. It is a day that changed the world forever for our generation with the consequential increased airport security worldwide, the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, and the ongoing repercussions of these events, which continue to shape our world. Without the events of 9/11 would we have had the bombings in Madrid (2004) and London (2005), or even the recent outrages in Paris? It is also a very human story. One of shock and sadness, certainly, but also of the strength of the human spirit. Visitors to 'ground zero' can see construction work in progress as the building continues of new towers, one already complete, which will, when finished, host many elements of the original complex, commercial, retail, and public transportation spaces. These buildings and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum will be welcoming millions of visitors for years to come, which is surely the best of all tributes to those who lost their lives. And if you are ever in New York and have only time to visit one location in this amazing city, this is it. Memorial NATIONAL

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