Docent blog - Nov. 4, 2014 Upon arrival on Memorial Plaza today we found 282 firefighter cadets from the fire academy on Long Island. Because it was election day, they had a free day and chose to come to the museum. Naturally, I started taking photographs as they lined up to enter the building. Once inside, I had the opportunity to talk to a number of these eager, courteous and respectful firefighters...I have never been called Maam so many times inside of a few hours - ever! It was my pleasure and privilege to interact with these future, young firefighters as they embarked on a career of service and courage. They were all to graduate within 2 weeks. Across the board, their demeanor and attitude was one of great reverence and honor for the fallen. As expected, they spent a considerable amount of time at Ladder Three and searched out any and all artifacts and stories that related to the firefighters on duty that day. Karen met and introduced me to two of these young men. Daniel Torres is the son of the man who wrote Sq 41 on the Last Column in honor of the 6 men lost in Squad 41. He followed in his fathers footsteps by training in the fire academy so that he, too, could serve his city as his father before him did. Nicholas Conroy worked construction in the area for a number of years and during recovery and clean up after 9/11. After witnessing the effects of the attacks, he, too, felt compelled to train for service. My new friend today was Moira Ann Smith. Actually, I do know a bit about Moira from my work on the museum curriculum but felt she needed to be shared with you. She began her police career in 1988 as a member of the New York City Transit Police Department. She is credited with saving hundreds of lives by evacuating people out of the South Tower, remaining calm and authoritative, lending confidence and comfort to those she saved. Moira was one of the first to respond. She died when the South Tower collapsed and was posthumously awarded the highest honor of the NYPD - the Medal of Honor. Moira was the only female NYPD officer to be killed on 9/11. Exhibiting extreme valor and courage, along with extraordinary bravery, was typical of Moira Smith, and she would have expected nothing less from herself. She also received the Distinguished Duty Medal in 1991 for saving dozens of lives following a subway crash. Listed among Glamour and Ms. magazines Woman of the Year for 2001, Moria was also named Woman of the Year by the NYPDs Policewomens Endowment Association. She left behind her police officer husband, James. J. Smith and their two-year old daughter, Patricia. Again, there were many global visitors among those from America and they all had memories from the day of the attacks. A couple from New Zealand told me that a neighbor came to their door to tell them to turn on the television. Unknown to them, their 4 year old had the TV on and was already watching the story unfold. At first, it was a scene they did not believe was real...certainly it had to be a movie trailer...it just could not be true..New York? Being attacked? It just couldnt be. A couple from France told me they were celebrating their anniversary that dreadful day in September of 2001. To this day, they have never again celebrated on that date. A woman from Norway told me she was eating fish when she found out and, almost immediately, got sick. She cannot eat that fish anymore. A couple from Vancouver was staying in Williamsburg and told me that on an earlier visit, the week before 9/11/01, they were visiting NYC, as well. They had photographs of the towers, the plaza, views from the observation deck and from Windows on the World. They took a boat ride around Manhattan and had photographs of the towers taken from the water. Their personal tradition: Each year on the anniversary of the attacks, they take out the photographs to remember those lost. A woman from Australia stood for a long time at M-27, a piece of the impact steel. She never spoke a word or turned away from this artifact and seemed to be deep in thought and reflection. As she turned to leave, I struck up a conversation with her. She immediately asked me where I was on 9/11 and shared her story, as well. She said that her daughter was in Germany on 9/11 and that they had just dropped their son off at Harvard, where he would be attending university. Her phone calls to her children were swift and perfectly clear: Come home!. She continued to tell me that she paced for days, could not sleep, checked airline schedules constantly, and thoroughly annoyed her children with phone calls...I simply couldnt help it. I needed to see them, to hug them...I wanted proof they were ok. I just wanted my babies to come home. Visitors from Scotland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain all confirmed that this event was not a New York event but rather one that was felt around the world. They all came with their children and asked a lot of questions, seemingly unable to absorb enough information to make the event real in their own minds...it is just impossible to understand this...impossible to believe it is true...an act of terror that is still unfeasible in my mind and in my heart. I met a man from the UK whose wife had just completed the NYC Marathon...her 8th marathon to date. Among other places, she has run in Tokyo, London, Boston and New York. For them, being in the city made the events of 9/11 seem even more unbelievable...we just had no concept of the range or the scope of the impact of these acts of terror...we had no perception of the level of destruction that was left behind.... At this point, his wife joined us and he, quite naturally, took her hand as he stood shaking his head, with tears in his eyes. She looked at him, nodded to me and lead him away, fighting back tears of her own. A couple from England told me they had been in New York on September 11, 2001 because their 6 year old son had seen Home Alone and wanted to celebrate his birthday at the Plaza Hotel. So, there they were as the attacks unfolded in 2001. They shared with me the difficulties in explaining to their young son what was happening around him without exposing to him their own paralyzing fear and uncertainty. They shielded him from as much as they could until they managed to find their way to a relatives home in Connecticut. As he got older, they spoke with their son about the days that followed. He shared with them that, after his initial fear, he was lead to believe it was an adventure, one that he would never forget and that he should make certain that he did not. He was not with them today but was coming to NY during his holiday to see the museum for himself. To fulfill a boyhood promise to himself, he just wanted to make sure he did not forget. Two sisters were visiting from Seattle and from Idaho. This was an annual trip they try to take together each year. With the opening of the museum, the choice was simple: we were coming to NYC! They took a cab to the museum from their hotel and had a conversation with the cabbie about 9/11. They told me that this man had them in tears. He not only witnessed the attacks, but also the collapse of each of the buildings. He shared that his cab was empty as he was headed down the West Side Highway in search of a fare when the North Tower was hit. He watched as the plane headed directly for the tower, not believing what he was seeing. In the aftermath of that attack, he said that it was chaotic and vague what they should be doing...where they should go...until the South Tower was hit. At this point, it was nearly impossible to move with his vehicle, so he abandoned it and started running away from the plaza, constantly looking back to see what was happening. As the South Tower fell, he watched in disbelief as the mushroom of black smoke filled the air...and was then shoved along by others who were escaping the scene. Following that, he heard the rumble of the North Tower collapsing and could think of nothing other than his family. He also shared with these women that he was suddenly struck with the realization that his own family members worked at Windows on the World. He remembered the children of his cousins, the newborn twins that had just come home from the hospital and how proud and overjoyed his young cousin had been...the wives and mothers who were ultimately left alone to raise young, growing families with very little support...and his mind raced to what was now resting on his shoulders. In the end, this cab driver lost three relatives, leaving 8 children with no fathers to help to raise them, to give them guidance. As he spoke, the women remembered that his voice continuously cracked with emotion and that tears were shamelessly evident. In the telling of this encounter, their tears flowed freely, as well, as they moved to find the names of their cabbies relatives in Memoriam Hall. There were couples from San Diego, Texas, Chicago, Southern California and New York who all made great efforts to visit the museum, knowing it was a destination of obligation. Some came to NYC by air, one couple by car, and the locals by train, but it was a journey of the heart that could not be ignored. They all had watched the events unfold on TV, believing it was, in fact, fake...a movie or recreation...and once they realized it was, beyond any doubt, clear reality, wanting to turn away...pretend it was not what it appeared to be...to rush to shut down the television to make it stop, but none of them could...an emblematic response to the attacks that we have heard over and over again.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 02:51:16 +0000
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