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| September 11, 2001 attacks |
| Timeline |
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| Background history |
| Planning and execution |
| September 11, 2001 |
| Rest of September |
| October |
| Aftermath |
| Victims |
| Casualties |
| Missing Persons |
| Survivors |
| Foreign casualties |
| Rescue workers |
| Effects |
| US government response |
| World political effects |
| World economic effects |
| Airport security |
| Closings and cancellations |
| Movies and TV shows |
| Response |
| Rescue and recovery effort |
| Financial assistance |
| Memorials and services |
| Perpetrators |
| Responsibility |
| Organizers |
| Miscellaneous |
| Communication |
| Slogans and terms |
| Misinformation and rumors |
| Opportunists |
| ?In Memoriam Wiki? |
The first memorials to the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks began to take shape online, as hundreds of webmasters posted their own thoughts, links to the Red Cross and other rescue agencies, photos and eyewitness accounts. Numerous online Sept. 11 memorials began appearing a few hours after the attacks, although many of these memorials were only temporary. (For an assessment of the response of webloggers to the attacks, see .)
The Tribute in Light was the first major physical memorial at the World Trade Center site. A permanent memorial at the World Trade Center site is planned, as part of the design by Studio Daniel Libeskind. The plans call for preservation of much of the towers' foundational "bathtub", with glass towers wending around to a 1776-foot high spire.
One of the places that had many memorials and candlelight vigiles was Pier A in Hoboken, New Jersey, where many people saw the events of Sept. 11 (Pier A had a good view of the World Trade Center.) There was also a memorial service on March 11, 2002 at dusk on Pier A when the Tribute in Light first turned on, marking the half-year anniversery of the terrorist attack. A permanent September 11 memorial for Hoboken, called Hoboken Island, was chosen in September of 2004.
The first anniversary of the attack brought numerous memorials and services.
81 streets in New York City, mostly in Staten Island, were renamed after victims.
In New York City, candlelight vigils were held across the city on Wednesday night (September 12) and Friday night (September 14) at 7:00 PM. (A related email hoax spread, encouraging people to "go outside at 7pm so NASA can take a photo". See Misinformation and rumors.)
Several thousand citizens march in a candlelight procession through the Adams Morgan district, through Dupont Circle, past dozens of embassies and onto the National Mall, where they join additional thousands of their fellow citizens holding vigil over The Pentagon, just across the Potomac River.
In England, in a break with the long-standing usual procedures at Buckingham Palace, the Queen ordered the Changing of the Guard to be paused for a two minute silence on September 13th, followed by the playing of the American national anthem. A memorial service was held in St. Paul's cathedral, London, attended by the Queen and politicians on the 14th September. A three minute silence at 11 o'clock was held throughout Europe on the 14th. Rev. Billy Graham led a service at Washington National Cathedral, with George W. Bush, the former presidents other than Reagan, Congressional leaders, other top officials in attendance. George W. Bush spoke, beginning with the memorable phrase We are here in the middle hour of our grief.
Vigils and memorial services continued to be held in the following days. On Sunday the families of the victims of the crash of United Airlines flight 93 gathered at the crash site in Pennsylvania for a private ceremony, then joined in a service attended by governor Tom Ridge and First Lady Laura Bush.
Church services are held across the United States and much of the world. Here isOn May 28, the last steel beam standing at the site was cut down and placed on a flatbed truck in a quiet ceremony.
Impromptu memorials are put up at Washington Square, with hundreds of candles and flowers, and Union Square, where people write messages on large rolls of paper taped to the ground amidst candles, including a 6-foot high concrete candle. A mural is spray-painted on a wall in the Lower East Side. In the coming days the memorials continue to grow, especially at Union Square Park, where thousands come to congregate, grieve, and celebrate--the statue George Washington in Union Square overtaken as a shrine for peace, memory and the United States, thousands of candles are added, a metal sculpture of the American flag and 2500 roses planted in the shape of the World Trade Center towers.
The Stars and Stripes appear on front stoops, flagpoles, cars, clothing, and on public buildings across the country.
A statue in honor of fallen firefighters, commissioned in 2000 by the Firefighters Association of Missouri, was in New York City en route to Missouri at the time of the attack. It was since donated to New York City in honor of the hundreds of firefighters who lost their lives in the collapse of the World Trade Center.
On October 4, Reverend Brian Jordan, a Franciscan priest, blessed two beams at the crash site which had formed a cross spontaneously, and then had been welded together by ironworkers.
On March 11, the damaged Sphere sculpture formerly in the World Trade Center was dedicated by the city as a temporary memorial in Battery Park City.
Beginning March 11, the Tribute in Light project, 88 searchlights placed next to the site of the World Trade Center created two vertical columns of light, lasting until April 14.
On September 11, 2004 at 9:15am, russian artist Zurab Tsereteli will dedicate his sculpture, "Tear of Grief", a 10-story high tribute to be erected on the Jersey City waterfront across the Hudson River from where the World Trade Center towers fell. The sculpture is an official gift of the Russian government to commemorate the victims of the attacks.
On Thursday, September 20, the New York Philharmonic performed a memorial concert of the Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem in Avery Fisher Hall. The concert was led off by the national anthem, and on the stage was a flag which appeared on stage during all Philharmonic World War II concerts. All proceeds went to disaster relief. At the request of the Philharmonic director, all applause was held, and the audience filed out in silence.
On Friday, September 21, America: A Tribute to Heroes
On Tuesday, October 2, beginning at 8 PM EDT: Come Together: A Night of John Lennon's Words and Music
On Thursday, October 4, at 9 PM EDT: ART Benefit for Sept. 11 Fund
On Saturday, October 6, at 6 PM EDT: And the Sun Went Down
On Sunday, October 7: AMF National Bowl-a-thon
At 3 p.m. EDT:
On Monday, October 8 and October 15, from 11-8: Haircut for Life
On Tuesday, October 9: Benefit for WTC Disaster Fund: Celebration of John Lennon's Birthday
On October 17, Marvel Comics and other members of the comic industry release a tribute book, primarily with drawings of firefighters and police officers, with proceeds going to the victims. Other charity books are also in production.
Several reporters for The New York Times, including Metro reporter Wendell Jameson, are writing 150-word entries for each of the World Trade Center victims, which highlight brief anecdotes about their lives. They expect the effort to take about 10 months.
See also
In Memoriam to add a memorial to an individual victim