At ground zero, reflection and remembrance 

On what promises to be a crisp, cloudless late-summer morning, much like that of 24 years ago, the Bell of Hope at St. Paul's Chapel will sound six times today, its knell reaching to the 9/11 Memorial plaza two blocks west. Six moments of silence, marking specific times corresponding to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, will follow each tolling of the bell.

And among the white oaks at Memorial Plaza, families and friends, first responders and recovery workers will gather to commemorate the deadliest attack on U.S. soil, and read the names of the 2,977 people killed in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993.

That annual ceremony, which will last until early afternoon, is not open to the public. But the 9/11 Memorial otherwise remains a place of pilgrimage.  

Natives and tourists alike congregate on the plaza, and come to lean onto the bronze parapets of the reflecting pools, the outlines marking where the twin towers once stood. And as clear skies and cooler temperatures announce fall’s arrival, the homages and salutes to those lost take on more poignant tones. 

Here are stories and impressions from some who visited the memorial in recent days. 

‘It changed all of our lives’ 

Jennifer Hodge

Jennifer Hodge works for a manufacturer of apparel and body armor for first responders and military personnel. A company business trip brought her to New York City for the first time. 

She is a supporter of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, the charitable organization and, among the names on the pools’ bronze facade, she tracked down that of Stephen Siller, a firefighter who died in the attacks and inspired his brother to create the foundation. 

“I’m here for work, but I always wanted to visit and pay my respects,” said Hodge. “It changed all of our lives.” Coming from Peoria, Arizona, she said she was surprised by the sheer size of the pools, which reflect the footprint of the towers. 

“If you’re from across the country, and you only saw everything on TV, to see the city in person and the streets where everybody had to run to safety … the magnitude of it is just heartbreaking.”

'Every moment is still so clear'

Ali Mohseni

Ali Mohseni was working on the 82nd floor of the North Tower when American Airlines Flight 11 slammed into it. While he managed to escape and survive, three of his colleagues who worked in the IT department perished that day. 

Standing by their memorialized names recently, Mohseni explained that part of their responsibilities was to ensure all data was backed up in the server in case of emergencies. So they stayed behind while everyone else immediately evacuated, not yet knowing the scale of what had happened. 

“It was like a war,” he recalled. “All of a sudden you come to work, on a beautiful sunny day and then you are in the middle of an explosion. So I escaped and ran.” For months after, Mohseni suffered from nightmares and then spent years in therapy to heal from that day. 

But he still works for the same company, and every year, he and the other survivors gather to recall and honor their three colleagues. “When the anniversary comes around, everything is so fresh again,” he said. “I don’t believe that 24 years have passed. Every moment is still so clear.”

‘The confusion and the chaos’

Eric Smith and Joe Dolce

Eric Smith and Joe Dolce, two longtime New Yorkers, were in the area recently and decided to stop by the memorial. 

“I feel like it’s a beautiful memorial, and it always causes me a somber moment of reflection and thoughts of that day, of that morning, of the confusion and the chaos,” said Dolce, adding that he has struggled to forget the image of people jumping out of the towers that day. 

That morning he had a meeting on Chambers Street, just a couple blocks away. While walking down the street he was confused why everyone was frozen and gazing up at the sky. 

He watched the next few hours unfold from his friend’s window before they decided to flee to his own apartment, further uptown, after wrapping their faces with shirts. “I can still smell it. I remember the smell because it went on for months.” 

Smith was in San Francisco that day, and awoke to phone calls alerting him of the attack in his hometown. “The water represents life and the tears that were shed that are constant,” said Smith about the memorial. “It preserves the footprint.”

A sense of peace

Jun Mai

Jun Mai was in first grade when the World Trade Center was attacked 24 years ago. He remembers getting picked up from school early that day. Back home, there was a busy stream of adults on the phone while the news played on TV in the background. 

“I have some memory of it, so it stuck to me,” Mai said on his lunch break from his office nearby. “The phrase ‘never forget’ kind of just jogs every New Yorkers’ memory every single year.” 

“The more people I meet, people who went through this or know someone who did, I think I get a little more context. It acts like a little puzzle piece to my memory, because I was so young at the time.” 

He says he often visits the pools on his lunch break for a moment of serenity. The sound of flowing water evokes a sense of peace and is reminiscent of the white noise he plays to fall asleep. To him, the pools represent a perpetual cycle of life.

‘It’s beautiful’

Apurva and Mansi Desai

Apurva and Mansi Desai were in the city to drop off their son at NYU for the fall semester. They were living in Chicago at the time of the attack, but moved to Mumbai, India, a couple years later. 

“We’ve been looking forward to visiting this place for a long time, to see how it is and what they have done,” said Apurva. “I think it’s beautiful.” 

They recall the evacuation of Chicago’s Sears Tower that morning as a precautionary measure, when officials thought that any metro area could be the next target. While their son was not yet born, they have made sure to tell him about that day. 

“The memorial is a substitute to the people who lost their life, so the future generations can actually know what really happened,” said Mansi. Once they visit, they’ll have questions to ask.”

‘Everything changed’ 

Marc and Michelle Checchin

Marc and Michelle Checchin were visiting New York City for the first time from San Antonio, Texas. After dropping their things off at the hotel, they came directly to the memorial.

“Everything changed after that. The skies were quiet. You couldn’t hear a plane or anything, it was eerie, even at home,” Michelle recalled of the attack’s immediate aftermath. 

In the weeks following, flags went up across their Texas neighborhood on lawns and on car stickers. They say the country felt united despite the fear in the air. 

“I didn’t even want to leave the house. I didn’t want to go get groceries, I didn’t want to do anything. I was just like, ‘I’m afraid.’”

Paying respect to a childhood friend

Charlie and Joanne Lefevre

Charlie and Joanne Lefevre live in New Jersey, but whenever they’re in the city, they stop by the memorial. The couple always makes sure to pause at the memorialized name of Charlie’s childhood neighbor from College Point, Queens. 

He was one of the firefighters who responded that day. 

“Every time we come and we see that I just get the chills,” said Joanne, who sees the water as symbolic of all the tears shed. “The victims are at peace, but the families are still here and they come back to this every year.”

History lessons

Chris and Johnna Ailster

Chris and Johnna Ailster were visiting the memorial from South Shore, Kentucky. At the time of the attack, Chris was in the middle of teaching an eighth grade science class.

“Our first thought was that it was the  beginning of World War III,” he recalled. Later as a principal, he organized a moment of silence each Sept. 11. He says there are always a few students who keep asking questions about the day after the formal lesson wraps up.

“There’s some others that, again, it’s just a history lesson for them, doesn’t really register the impact,” he said. Johnna recalled that an older high school student who was on the football team said they were planning to enlist in the military after that day.

Chris wanted to make sure the decision came from the right place. “I remember talking to him in the cafeteria about it, and trying to make him understand. I said, ‘This is not a game. You don’t want to go into this just to be a hero, but to do it for the right reasons.’”