PAX Centurion - September / October 2014

Page 14 • PAX CENTURION • September/October 2014 617-989-BPPA (2772) H aving waited over twelve years to visit these hallowed grounds made the moment no less emotional. As I ap- proached the area with my family I could feel all the emo- tions of this tragic day coming back. It has been nearly thirteen years since two planes manned by terrorist knocked these symbolic buildings down from the lower Manhattan skyline. For many years the clean up process and recovery would leave this vast area empty and devoid of pedestrians. Now after over a decade of construction a new museum and tower along with two large waterfall fountains stand on this sacred ground. The Freedom Tower at 1,792 feet is the tallest building in NewYork City and theWestern Hemisphere. As you approach this magnificent structure from blocks away you can feel pride in being in one of the greatest countries in the world.Yes it is a symbol against tyranny and terrorism and at night it is a beacon of light for all to see from miles around. It is a memorial to those lives lost on 9/11. It is a pillar of hope in a world of uncertainty that all Ameri- cans may cling to. It is not a monolith of arrogance but rather a reminder of who we are as a nation and a people. We are a civil society who at times have been asked to shepherd the weak when they could not defend them- selves. We are the defenders of FREE- DOM! As I walked on to the plaza I observe the two magnifi- cent ever-flow- ing fountains which have all the names etched in stone of those lives lost.You can see several flowers scat- tered around the edges which were placed by loved ones and total strangers to remember the deceased. I placed our special Pax edition WTC Museum, a tribute to 9/11 victims By Mark A. Bruno from the Boston Marathon on the sacred Fountain to pay reverence to those we lost in our attack here in Boston. I could not imagine how devastating an attack of 9/11’s magnitude would have affected Boston. We felt the sting of terrorism on a lesser scale, but we fast understood what it meant to have our City attacked and the senseless loss of lives. NewYork Police and Boston Police will always be connected through these devastating events. We have always shared a bond with our brothers and sisters in blue form the BigApple, be it at wakes or fundraisers, a mutual respect was always there. When NYPD and the Port Au- thority responded with water and food trucks to the Boston Marathon, all our members understood how tight the bond was between our two cities. I left the magazine with an NYPD Officer and thanked him for the support they gave to Boston Police during our crisis. He could not thank me enough and stated that it was many of our members who came down immediately after 9/11 to assist them that needed to be thanked. Making my way in to the front lobby of the 9/11 Museum I immediately scope out the two I-beam crosses draped in mourning scarves and I know I am about to enter hallowed grounds. The mere presence of being here where so many have died makes me emotional like when I visit my Parent’s and Brother’s grave at Holy Cross Cemetery. Because I was pressed for time i skipped the twenty minute video presentation upstairs and immediately started my tour downstairs. I immediately spot the I- beam which was removed in a special ceremony during the aftermath of 9/11. On top of the beam are posted PAPD 37, NYPD 23 and FDNY 343. These numbers represent the lives of our fellow offi- cers and firefighters that were lost that day. For many who enter this museum much like myself it is for the first time we are there since the attacks. It can be emotional and overwhelming for many. Next to the beam is the slurry wall that withstood the attack. Had these walls broke the NewYork subway system in lower Manhattan would have been flooded.You can not imagine how deep and wide this area is as you make your way down. All visitors are asked not to use flash photography in the front part of the exhibit, and no photography at all in Memorial Hall. The video footage from several live broadcasts that were recorded on this fateful day are displayed. There affect is no less than when it actually hap- pened. I can hear people gasping in horror as they relive the moments all over again. Video footage from a Frenchman who was recording a work crew in a manhole which caught the first plane coming in was shocking to watch. There were still photos of victims trapped on the top floors. Some photos show the victims hurtling through the air. There were statements of people posted on the walls near these pictures which were accompanied by audibles. In one statement of an