Dear Friends, Twenty years ago today at 12:18 p.m., approximately 1,200 pounds of explosives were detonated in an attack at the World Trade Center by terrorists who sought to destroy the Twin Towers, kill innocent people, and paralyze our city and nation with fear.
The explosion, which occurred in the parking garage beneath the North Tower, blasted a crater five stories deep. Six people were killed. The victims were living their everyday lives: four were dedicated employees of the Port Authority, which had offices in the towers, one was visiting the World Trade Center, and another worked at Windows on the World restaurant. Thousands more were injured.
Today, at the 9/11 Memorial, we will observe a moment of silence at 12:18 p.m. and read aloud the victims' names that are now forever etched in bronze around the Memorial's North Pool. As you go about your lives today, please take a moment with me to remember those six individuals who were simply doing the same 20 years ago today and were taken too soon: John DiGiovanni, Robert Kirkpatrick, Stephen A. Knapp, William Macko, Wilfredo Mercado, and Monica Rodriguez Smith, who was pregnant when she died.
In reflecting on those who perished, it's also important that we understand the history of what happened, who was responsible, and how the 1993 bombing is connected to 9/11. When the National September 11 Memorial Museum opens, it will be a place to explore such history through commemoration and education. Today, we invite you to learn more about the 1993 attack and the victims through our website.
On this day, please join me in sharing your thoughts and prayers with the victims' families and the survivors of the 1993 attack.
Warm regards, |
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Joe Daniels President & CEO |
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We invite you to listen to an audio clip of Jeannine Ali's recorded oral history from the 9/11 Memorial Museum collection.
Listen here >>
In 1993, Jeannine was working on the 45th floor of the North Tower during the February 26th bombing. | She remembers her reaction when her husband told her over the phone later that day that a bomb had caused the explosion:
"To hear him say the words 'terrorists' and 'bomb,' my knees just - my legs went out completely from underneath me and I just collapsed in the PATH station." | |
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