First Responder Tour Launches at 9/11 Memorial Museum

Several visitors listen to a tour guide as they stand beside the heavily damaged Ladder 3 fire truck.
Visitors hear the story of the responders of Ladder 3 on the new tour “Uncommon Courage: First Responders on 9/11.”

Having survived the 1993 World Trade Center bombings, Rick Rescorla, head of security at Morgan Stanley, the largest tenant at the WTC occupying over 20 floors, had insisted, even the face of staff opposition, on regular safety drills for Morgan Stanley staff. His insistence and persistence in the face of danger saved 3,687 lives on September 11, 2001. Only 13 Morgan Stanley employees, including Rick Rescorla, didn’t make it out.

Today the 9/11 Memorial & Museum launched a new tour sharing the stories of first responders and those who acted as responders like Rescorla and the significant role they played on 9/11. The 60-minute guided tour entitled “Uncommon Courage: First Responders on 9/11” takes visitors through the Memorial and Museum and explores exceptional accounts of heroism and survival.

In the largest mobilization of emergency personnel in American history, thousands responded from city, state and federal agencies to the three attack sites on 9/11. More than 400 responders from the New York City Fire Department, New York City Police Department and the Port Authority Police Department sacrificed their lives to save others.

The tour offers an additional perspective to the official 9/11 Memorial Tour and Understanding 9/11 Museum Tour.

It is offered Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 3:30 p.m. Learn more and reserve a spot here.

Previous Post

The Lens: Capturing Life and Events at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum

Under Secretary of the Army Patrick Murphy officiates a promotion ceremony on the 9/11 Memorial. He is holding up his right hand as he stands across from a woman in a U.S. military outfit who is also holding up her right hand. An American flag is hanging in the background.

The Lens: Capturing Life and Events at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum is a photography series devoted to documenting moments big and small that unfold at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

View Blog Post

Next Post

CNN National Security Analyst Speaks at 9/11 Museum

CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen speaks onstage at the 9/11 Memorial Museum Auditorium. Clifford Chanin, the executive vice president and deputy director for museum programs, sits beside him with a clipboard on his lap.

For more than 20 years, CNN national security analyst and author Peter Bergen has studied terrorism and written extensively about counterterrorism, homeland security and the Middle East.

View Blog Post