Ceremony Marks 23 Years Since WTC Bombing

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum today held a ceremony in commemoration of the 23rd anniversary of the first attack on the World Trade Center that killed six people and injured more than 1,000.

The annual tribute took place at the North Pool where the names of the victims are etched in bronze. Victims’ relatives, survivors, friends and Port Authority officials gathered on the 9/11 Memorial to remember John DiGiovanni, Robert Kirkpatrick, Stephen A. Knapp, William Macko, Wilfredo Mercado and Monica Rodriguez Smith and her unborn child. They were killed when terrorists detonated 1,200 pounds of explosives in a van in an underground parking garage.

Following a procession from NYPD, FDNY and PAPD pipes and drums honor guard, brief  remarks were given by 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels,Tony Shorris, first deputy mayor of New York City, and others.

"So much history has happened here at this site that still bears on us today," Daniels said. "It continues to be important that the lives of those six innocent people killed in this attack are not forgotten. Every day, people come from all over the world to honor and remember them and all who were lost in the World Trade Center attacks."

A moment of silence was held at 12:18 p.m., the time of the 1993 attack. Family members then read the victims’ names aloud and placed roses on the memorial.

Of the victims, Kirkpatrick, Knapp, Macko and Smith were Port Authority employees. Mercado worked for Windows on the World restaurant and was checking in food deliveries, while DiGiovanni was a dental salesman visiting the building at the time of the blast.

Learn more about the 1993 bombing or view an interactive timeline detailing the events of the day.

By Christine Murphy, 9/11 Memorial Administration / Research