Since that impossibly blue sky on a crisp autumn morning.
Since the first plane. Then the second plane.
Since one building collapsed. And then another.
Since the flag among the rubble.
Since the frantic search. Since the flyers that were hung on wire fences, pleading for the return of loved ones.
Have you seen her? Help me find him.
Because 2,753 people died in a matter of minutes, including 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 NYPD officers, and 37 Port Authority Police officers. All those office workers.
Since the fire that seemed to smolder endlessly.
Ever since the funerals and all the bagpipes and dress uniforms and rows and rows of police officers and firefighters.
Since the stories started to surface, of small, unimportant events that mattered at the time and meant life or death. Being late meant life for some; being at your desk early meant death for others.
If only they had…
From our archives: Remembering the Blue of the 9/11 Sky Through Art, Light, and Instagram
Ever since Welles Crowther, the “Man in the Red Bandana,” made his family and his hometown of Nyack and his alma mater Boston College proud with a selfless act of heroism. He led people through smoke and fire to safety, to an “after” he would never know: the day after, the month after, the year after, 23 years after.
Since then, there have been countless doctor visits and diagnoses of cancer and respiratory problems that have claimed more lives since that day than were lost that day. First responders and survivors — who heard politicians vow to “never forget” — have fought for access to health insurance and benefits. Their fight continues, with Congress considering another bill to extend funding.
There’s a memorial and a museum and a gleaming office tower and a subway station where it all changed. Pieces of rubble have been repurposed into crosses and memorials and sent to birthplaces, where friends, families and neighbors pause this week to remember.
What changed 23 years ago and what has changed?
Nancy Cutler contributed to this report. Contact Peter D. Kramer at pkramer@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: 9/11: Memories of the Day That Changed Everything…Read more by The Bharat Express News
