The day that never ends - everyone was affected by 9/11

Navy Commander Patrick Dunn was among those
 killed at the Pentagon on 9/11

Eleven years ago, I lived on Staten Island.  You could not avoid or escape the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. 

Everyone knew someone who perished in the terror attacks that day -- a relative, a former classmate, a neighbor.

For months, wakes and memorial services were held in churches across the borough.  In the years that followed, you could drive for 15 minutes and pass as many as two dozen streets named in honor of fallen cops, firefighters or Wall Street secretaries.

Three years ago I moved to New Jersey.  It goes without saying that New Jersey residents of neighborhoods such as Middletown paid a horrendous toll that day. 

On the other hand, my neighborhood in Woodbridge didn’t seem to have as close a connection to the attacks.  It didn’t seem, for example, that quite as many people on my block worked in Manhattan.

Furthermore, a decade after 9/11, you pretty much thought you had heard of all the people connected in some way to the attacks.

Dunn Memorial

Then, a few weeks ago, I was out for a walk.  I happened past Our Lady of Peace Catholic middle school, located on Amboy Avenue.

A small plaque and memorial caught my attention.  It was dedicated in memory of Patrick Dunn, who was killed on September 11.

Dunn grew up in Woodbridge and attended Bishop Ahr Catholic High School in Edison.  Dunn’s father served in the Navy, as did his brother. 

Dunn eventually graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and went on to serve on the USS LaSalle and the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

In December 2000, Dunn was transferred to the Pentagon, where he would serve as surface warfare officer in the U.S. Naval Command Center.

On September 11, according to the Star Ledger, he called his brother, who worked in Manhattan, when he’d heard planes had crashed into the Twin Towers.  Dunn and so many others had no idea that another plane was headed to the Pentagon.

"He was extremely attached to his family and he was there when you needed him," one of Dunn’s sisters told the Star Ledger.

Dunn’s wife was pregnant with their first child when the attacks occurred.

Many people have already commented that the anniversary of the attacks will probably pass by with less and less fanfare, now that the 10th anniversary has come and gone.  That is terrible, especially since it seems that day has not even ended yet. 

Whether it is another first responder dying of cancer, or learning about someone such as Commander Patrick Dunn, we are still struggling to emerge from the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

True, when I lived on Staten Island, it seemed you couldn’t go a few blocks without a reminder.  But I was naive to think that moving to a different place would prove any different. 

Whether it was a street corner or a volunteer firehouse or a humble memorial at a Catholic middle school, it was inevitable that I would confront a poignant reminder of all that was lost that day.

Which is why it is so disheartening to read about the ongoing struggles to open a museum and memorial at Ground Zero.

“Aides to (Mayor) Bloomberg and (Governor) Cuomo have so far been unable to resolve their differences over which government agencies will pay the operating costs of the museum, which is intended to document the terrorist attacks of 2001 and honor the nearly 3,000 victims,” The New York Times reported on Saturday.

“The two sides also remain at odds over who will have oversight of the museum and the surrounding memorial.”

About this, I am not naive.  These things cost money, and it is fine that the mayor and governor do some work to figure out how to pay the bills for this. 

But they had better figure it out. Memories of that day will inevitably fade. 

But that does not mean future generations must inevitably forget.  They will, in fact, crave to learn about and remember that awful day, and all memorials, big or small, play a role in that.

As Americans, we deserve - we need – a grand museum and memorial in lower Manhattan.  It’s also the least we can do for the widow, for the daughter, of people such as Commander Patrick Dunn.

(Contact “Sidewalks” at tdeignan.blogspot.com or tomdeignan@earthlink.net)

Mission of 9/11 Memorial is to recall the day's events and honor those who died

Police Officer Moira Smith

I am a high school English teacher.  Next September, a new crop of ninth graders will enter my high school.  And on September 11, we will surely acknowledge the 12th anniversary of the attacks that changed New York forever.

Eventually, we will also acknowledge another important point -- that most of the students were about three years old on September 11, 2001. 

Meaning the attacks were not personal to them.  They are, literally, history.

And in the years since, young people have learned as much about the attacks from crackpot Internet conspiracy theorists as they have from family, friends and history books.

This is what occurred to me this week as governors Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie called on the federal government to save the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center site.

Specifically, the governors of New York and New Jersey called for the National Park Service to become a central player in funding and managing the museum and memorial site, which is currently open to the public but incomplete.

"As governors of the states with jurisdiction over the World Trade Center site, we believe that federal support through the National Park Service would ensure long term stability of the memorial and museum, ensure the best possible visitor experience by taking advantage of the Park Service's expertise," Cuomo and Christie said in a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
---------------
Read more: 
Why American women lose out to their Irish counterparts

Dog whisperer Cesar Millan joins fight to ‘Save Lennox’ the dog from death row
---------------

Some in Congress and the Senate support the funding.  Others think it is irresponsible to spend money the federal government doesn’t have unless deeper cuts are made elsewhere.

There is a tendency to see this just as yet another skirmish between local and national politicians, a cheap squabble which leaves you tempted to hate everyone involved.

But think back to my ninth graders and even younger students.  At best, they will soon equate 9/11 will other important historical events such as Watergate or Pearl Harbor.

And if you’ve ever heard an average ninth grader talk about “important historical events,” you should be concerned.  Very concerned.

The Irish American community, in particular, should make sure a thorough portrait of the events of that terrible day is presented at the memorial and museum. 

Think of the selfless heroism of New York police officer Moira Smith, or firefighter Sean Tallon.  The sheer number of uniformed rescue workers with Irish names who served that day remains staggering. 

Then there are the white collar workers who were the first in their families to go to college.  And the ironworkers who helped clear the site in the harrowing weeks after the attack. 

It is no exaggeration to say that you can tell the history of the Irish in New York through the events of 9/11.

Anyway, that is a small part of what subsequent generations of New Yorkers should walk away from the memorial and museum understanding.  And maybe they will.

But right now, that mission is in jeopardy. And money is only a small part of the problem.

There are also problems with what should and should not be included in the exhibits.  Some families, for example, were upset when it was announced that photos of the terrorists who flew the planes into the towers might be included in the museum.

Others – such as Tallon’s family – object to the sensitive topic of human remains at the site.

As The New York Times recently noted, “Many families are upset about a plan to place approximately 14,000 unidentified or unclaimed remains of those who died — typically bone fragments or dried bits of tissue — in the museum below ground. Seventeen family members have filed suit against the city as part of an effort to reopen the decision. They view it as degrading to set the remains in a museum below ground.”

Debates such as these are grueling. However, they are not only necessary, they are healthy. 

So long as everyone has a single goal in mind -- to vividly recall the events of that day and honor those who sacrificed.

If we don’t ultimately accomplish that mission, it will be yet another heartbreaking loss for future generations of New Yorkers.

(Contact “Sidewalks” at tomdeignan@earthlink.net or facebook.com/tomdeignan)

Art and sound at Ground Zero - 9/11 FDNY victim’s family calls for return of Koenig sculpture

Captain William Burke

Captain William Burke was a 20-year veteran of the FDNY who died on 9/11.  Remembered by friends for his dedication and his “Irish charm,” Burke’s father was also a firefighter, a deputy chief in the Bronx.

During a service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Edward Cardinal Egan noted that Burke had "a good relationship" with his six brothers and sisters.

Ten years later, Burke’s brother is doing battle with a powerful government agency over an issue which was also important to Captain Burke -- art.

This battle comes just as the city mourns the loss of another firefighter, Lieutenant Richard Nappi, who died from heat exhaustion at a Brooklyn fire.  

This also comes as a TV special this week reintroduced us to a truly sick woman, Tania Head, who rose to prominence as a high-profile 9/11 survivor, only to have her story exposed as a sham and a fraud.

All the more reason to take seriously the legacy of those who truly sacrificed on 9/11.

It is well known, by now, that the Freedom Tower is rising fast and furious at the former Ground Zero site.  The 9/11 Memorial also opened to the public to great fanfare last year.  

But there are still artifacts of 9/11 downtown, artifacts untouched by new construction and not located behind a glass wall.

Look no further than Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan.  The vast waterfront park is a cherished green space amidst the concrete jungle, and also one of the most historically significant spots in downtown Manhattan.  

Among other things, it is the former site of the Castle Clinton immigration depot, which is where vast numbers of Famine Irish arrived in New York, a good 50 years before Annie Moore arrived from Ireland on January 1, 1892.

Not far from a remaining Castle Clinton structure, near the Bowling Green subway station in Battery 

Park, is a true work of art -- Fritz Koenig’s 25-foot Sphere, which had originally been placed in the plaza between the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center.  The structure had originally been commissioned for that site, where it was placed in the early 1970s.  

What is fascinating today about Koenig’s Sphere is that it survived the attacks with minimal damage.  

Six months after 9/11, the Sphere was placed just south of Ground Zero – along with an eternal flame – in Battery Park.

To this day, the battered bronze work of art is a major tourist attraction, and seems so vastly out of place in the park that it seems…well, absolutely a perfect fit for the park.

True, even at the time, it was believed the placement in Battery Park would be temporary.  And now, it appears as if the Port Authority is ready to move the Sphere to a site with not quite as much history as Battery Park: a hangar at JFK International Airport.

Here’s where Captain William Burke’s family comes in.  His brother Michael started a petition objecting to the move, which by now has gotten over 7,000 signatures.

“Why not return it to where it was? Where it was a symbol of world peace for 30 years. Where it survived the attacks that took place and was embraced as an icon of the resiliency, the perseverance, the strength of America and peace and cooperation?” Burke told CBS Radio.

Personally, I think the Sphere should stay where it is: in Battery Park.  Part of the beauty of New York is the city’s ability to adapt and bend without breaking, its utterly improvisational nature.  

The Koenig sculpture works in Battery Park precisely because it was not designed to fit there.  Awful circumstances forced its relocation there, and its placement – and the visible damage, and its eternal flame – is an authentic reminder of that terrible day.

But if the Sphere must be moved, Burke and his supporters are absolutely right.  

Port Authority executives have argued that they might place the Sphere at a new park, Liberty Plaza, south of the former Trade Center site.  Others have suggested there’s no room in the memorial for the Sphere.

But if you’re going to move this authentic survivor of 9/11, why would you shoehorn it into as-yet unopened park?  Especially when it has found such a poignant home in Battery Park.  

Michael Burke is right.  If you are going to move the Sphere, it should go back to its old home.

(Contact Sidewalks at tomdeignan@earthlink.net or facebook.com/tomdeignan)