Was up in Plymouth the other day and stumbled upon this 9/11 memorial that I had no idea existed. It's not near the downtown area where all the tourists go. At first I only gave this little park a quick glance, wondering why there was a rusted I-beam between the statues of the cop and fireman. Upon closer inspection I was quite blown away when I realized that it came from Ground Zero.
I remember that morning when my alarm went off at 6 AM and I turned on the TV to see the second plane hit the south tower. Worst. Day. Ever.
I was ready to head to work when this one happened.
And in my car when Flight 93 went down. I cried the whole way to work that morning, and spent most of the next couple of weeks in tears too.
To say that this memorial is moving would be an understatement. You can hear the number of people died in numerical form, which was 2,977. But to see every single name engraved on these pillars strikes a chord.
They are done alphabetically in each category from the first responders, all of the plane passengers and crew, each Tower, Pentagon and Flight 93. It was a warm day but I had chills and tears in my eyes.
Captain Gerald DeConto was a former resident of my hometown of Sandwich, and was only 44 when he died in the crash at the Pentagon. There is now an annual Memorial Scholarship Run/Walk in Sandwich, and the sports field/stadium at our old high school is named after him as well.
If you ever find yourself in Plymouth, do make it a point to visit this. It's located on South Spooner Street at the corner of Court Street. Well worth the detour from the downtown sites.
Interesting looking memorial JoJo. A friend phoned me that morning telling me to turn on the TV. Matt was out golfing. At first we all thought it was an accident. Watched the TV for the rest of the day in shock and horror.
ReplyDeleteI called to my now ex-h, who slept in the room next door, to get in my room b/c the first tower was on fire. I turned back to the TV and saw the jet hit the second tower and I yelled, 'HOLY SHIT THAT WAS ON PURPOSE!' Brian had to go to Olympia to take a workers comp test, which he failed b/c he couldn't concentrate. I listened to my radio at work all day and it was just so horrible. It was a gorgeous day in Washington, not unlike the nice weather in NY and it was hard to fathom the horrors on the east coast. I remember being in my car on the way, hearing about the plane going down in PA and the towers starting to collapse and screaming, 'MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP'. I had nightmares for weeks.
DeleteA strong statement for an event which will remain forever in our memories. Freedom was attacked. I also saw the planes crashing into the towers as I arrived at work. We had a big screen tv in the lobby of the HQ building I worked in. I felt like I had lead in my stomach. Thanks for sharing the photos of this memorial, JoJo!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Just like Pearl Harbor, this was a day that will live in infamy.
DeleteThere really aren't many occasions like that, where we know the world will be changed forever. It's strange when I talk to my son about it, because he views it as history. He was only a little kid when it happened. Everyone who lived through it that was not a kid will remember it for the rest of their lives.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. It's like that whole 'where were you when you found out JFK was shot' for my generation. It's seered into everyone's brains forever. Pearl Harbor was horrible too and all, but this was such a catastrophic attack on North American soil.
DeleteWow, well done. Thanks for sharing it with us. I may never get down there, so reading this post and seeing your photos is moving.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the memorial in NYC is 10x more powerful but this was nice to see in a small town like Plymouth. I hope someday you do get to New England.
DeleteI still remember that day. We were all so shaken and watching it happen on TV was so unreal but deep down we feel so sick and thinking of the people affected makes very thing so horrible.
ReplyDeleteI know. I had to keep myself from imagining the horror those people went through knowing they were going to die, frantically trying to make a last phone call to loved ones. It's just heartbreaking.
DeleteVery cool. I remember watching the attacks on TV and thinking...this can't be real. It was like something out of a movie. The horrific thing was that it was real.
ReplyDeleteI know right? It just didn't seem to be happening for real at all. Using planes as suicide bombs....that seems like a script out of Hollywood.
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