The Tower of Voices in Shanksville, PA
*AP
New York City World Trade Center Memorial, Washington D.C. Memorial for the Pentagon, Shanksville Pennsylvania, and memorials built in large and small towns mostly in New York and New Jersey, which I wish never had to be built.
Unfortunately, September 11, 2001 did happen, which is why all of these memorials had to be erected.
There now is a new memorial in Shanksville, PA. It cost $6 million and is 93 feet tall and has 40 wind chimes, one for each of the 40 victims. Each chimes at a unique frequency to honor the victims of Flight 93.
This is now the 17th Anniversary of the day the world stood still. Even though some people said they have moved on, I’m sure there’s a little piece of their hearts that we will always remember those that they lost.
Let’s not forget there are still people living today who are suffering physically from the air that they inhaled that day and in the weeks afterward. Lawsuits are still ongoing. In these instances, the money does help, but if they had their choice, they would rather have their loved ones back — and their health.
Watching the televised ceremony at the World Trade Center Memorial in New York, you can hear the emotion of those who speak the names of the fallen victims. It’s still gut-wrenching, especially to those survivors whose loved one’s remains were never recovered (physical or material).
We are used to Memorials which have been built for people who have been victims of violence, but we could never imagine there could be such a massive attack on American soil. It was a big wake-up call and immediately security was tightened around airports and other ports of entry around the United States. People became more vigilant.
After a couple of years, the reigns became a little bit looser. It’s a little bit scary when they have reports to see how vulnerable security checkpoints were at US airports. There were a lot of breeches of security where people posed a threat.
As stated previously, people are always being profiled. How many ads pop up on your next window on the web because you did a previous search on something? Often, you may be doing a search requested by someone else, and then all of a sudden, you’re getting that information that you have no interest in. Profiling is the name of the game, and it’s never going to change.
The scary part is when a person that doesn’t hit the normal profile and commits a heinous act.
We also remember how those planes were taken down, which were not with the usual weapons. It was something people use every day of their lives and not think anything of it.
17 years went by very quickly.
C.M. & K.M.
