New York City’s 911 Memorial Museum

CEBU, Philippines -  It’s the 13th anniversary of the infamous terror attack on US soil on September 11, 2001, when two commercial airliners manned by Al Qaida terrorists crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. At the time, another commercial airliner was deliberately crashed into the Pentagon, the headquarters of the US Defense establishment; and a fourth airliner (supposedly targeted to hit the White House or the US Congress) was overpowered by its passengers and crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Whenever the anniversary of 9/11 comes around, the question most people often ask is where were you when the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City was destroyed? This is one day of infamy that many of us remember exactly what we were doing at that time. We remember to have seen it all on satellite TV.

As for me, I was at the corporate worship of the Bukas Loob sa Diyos, our charismatic community. The worship was just ending when suddenly my cell phone was deluged by numerous text messages for me to watch CNN. New York City was under attack! We rushed home just in time as the second plane, United Airlines Flight 175, crashed into the South Tower of World Trade Center.

This was the crash that billions of people saw on live TV. The first plane, American Airlines Flight 11, was deliberately crashed into the North Tower 17 minutes earlier; there was only one video of that crash, taken from street level. All in all, four commercial airliners were hijacked by Al Qaida suicide pilots, mostly from Egypt. In all hijackings, passengers were able to call their loved ones by cell phones or phones on the plane, relating what was happening in the planes they were on. 

Perhaps the most dramatic was United Airlines’ Flight 93. Flight data recorders later revealed that the passengers on the flight did not just sit down for the ride – they tried to recapture the cockpit and nearly succeeded using the food cart as a battering ram. They nearly got into the cockpit, prompting the pilots to crash the plane on Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

But the biggest tragedy happened at the World Trade Center when the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed with the whole world witnessing the tragic event on live TV coverage. Unfortunately, by showing such act of terrorism to the world, the media establishment unwittingly helped the terrorists spread their reign of terror. The whole world shuddered in fear of Osama Bin Laden and the Al Qaida terrorists.

In May this year, the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York City was opened to the public. The following month, June, we were in the big city and were able to get tickets to see this modern day museum honoring the 2,983 people killed on that fateful day. The casualty included many firemen from the various fire districts of New York City. They responded to the ongoing emergency and got trapped inside as the twin towers collapsed.

Outside the 9/11 Memorial Museum are two huge square openings, or pools, where once the Twin Towers stood. Today it is surrounded by black granite with water falling on all four sides. The names of the victims are written on both sites, at the remaining foundations of the north and south towers, preserved for all future generations. Inside are the photos of those who died and some memorabilia. Cameras are not allowed in deference to those who perished. (I tried to take some photos hurriedly for this article and if they’re blurred it’s the best I could do under the situation.)

Also inside are the wreckage of NYC Firetruck Ladder No.3 and the metal tower that used to adorn the top of the north tower. Also, there are the old photographs of the construction of the World Trade Center, giving pride to New York City being once the world’s tallest building. In the area today, right beside the square where once stood the north tower, stands the One World Trade Center, also dubbed as the New York City Freedom Tower. It has 104 floors and has gotten the title of the “Tallest Building in the Western Hemisphere” and the third tallest building in the world. For the time being, though, the building is not yet officially opened to the public.

The 9/11 Memorial Museum is a testimonial of the great American spirit. That, like the proverbial phoenix, America rises again from the rubble. The Memorial is becoming a top tourist destination.