On a recent Sunday,  The National 9/11 Flag served as the backdrop for the Waterfront Warriors event in Long Beach, NY. The event honored wounded military service members who had come up from Walter Reed Medical Center to enjoy a week of "R&R"with host families at this beach community on the south shore of Long Island. Hundreds of local residents turned out to honor these young men and women, many of whom had lost limbs and suffered severe shrapnel wounds while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. As the rain came down, scores of Long Beach residents helped to bring The National 9/11 Flag indoors for a reverent and emotional folding ceremony – aided by the wounded warriors. While the flag was being folded, the crowd chanted “U.S.A.!  U.S.A.!”

It was one of the most humbling moments on this amazing journey of restoration and healing of The National 9/11 Flag. The flag will be added to the 9/11 Memorial Museum's permanent collection after completing a national tour of stitching ceremonies to restore the flag back to its original glory. It was recovered from ground zero after the World Trade Center skyscrapers collapsed.

By Jeff Parness, Guest Writer for The MEMO

Parness is the founder of New York Says Thank You

Staff photographer Amy Dreher snaps a lot of pictures at the World Trade Center site, documenting the construction progress of the 9/11 Memorial. Amy also trains her lens on the smaller pieces that may be overlooked with a project of this magnitude. Through “The Lens: Viewing the 9/11 Memorial,” readers of The MEMO blog can share some of the unique vantage points captured by Amy.

A sight to see. A group recently huddles in Zuccotti Park near the World Trade Center, where the 9/11 Memorial is being completed. In view, looming above the city streets, is the iron skeletal structure that is to be Tower 4, a private project funded by Silverstein Properties.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

Like the hundreds of thousands before her, Vibeke Arensbak traveled to the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site at 20 Vesey St. to pay her respects and learn more about the memorial and museum.   But today Arensbak of Denmark would help the Preview Site achieve an incredible milestone.

Arensbak became the Preview Site's millionth visitor, a landmark reached less than a year after the Preview Site opened its doors on August 26, 2009.

9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels said, "We are proud to have established a space where a million people have already visited in less than a year’s time and had the opportunity to learn about the lives stripped away on 9/11 and about the Memorial and Museum being built in their honor."

Arensbak was presented with a certificate for a dedicated cobblestone that will be permanently placed on the memorial plaza, joining other supporters in the ongoing cobblestone campaign. She called it an honor to be recognized as the millionth visitor.

Update: Read about it here in artdaily.org or DNAinfo.com.

By Michael Frazier,  Sr. Communication Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

Snøhetta, the architecture firm that designed the 9/11 Memorial Museum pavilion, has been picked by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art to design a new wing, which is scheduled to open in 2016. The $250 million expansion is likely to be the city's largest private project, according to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle.

The pavilion designed for the memorial museum will house an auditorium for public programming, space for contemplation, a counter for refreshments and a private suite reserved for victims' family members.  Two of the original steel tridents from the fallen World Trade Center's towers will be placed inside the pavilion and will be visible through the grand glass atrium.

Snøhetta, which has offices in Oslo and New York, was selected after a five-month search, rising to the top after 35 possible architects were whittled to four finalist, the report said.

By Michael Frazier,  Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

Staff photographer Amy Dreher snaps a lot of pictures at the World Trade Center site, documenting the construction progress of the 9/11 Memorial. Amy also trains her lens on the smaller pieces that may be overlooked with a project of this magnitude. Through “The Lens: Viewing the 9/11 Memorial,” readers of The MEMO blog can share some of the unique vantage points captured by Amy.

Tools of the Trade: Taking a break from the heat on a sweltering July afternoon, construction workers at the World Trade Center site rest their hardhats on a wall near the Liberty Street entrance of the highly restricted area.  The wall is not too far from the 9/11 Memorial's south pool. Tower 4, an office building privately owned by Silverstein Properties, can be seen in the distance.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

Watch “We Remember” Today and Help Support the 9/11 Memorial in the American Express/Take Part Members Project - Production by the 9/11 Memorial Interns

Filmed at various popular locations in Manhattan’s Financial District and produced by the summer interns at the 9/11, this video features testimonials from former students who weren’t even old enough to be in college on September 11, 2001, but like so many men, women and children from around the world, the attacks and their aftermath remain forever engraved in their memories. It is through shared reflections like these that we are all reminded of our connection to that day. The progress currently taking place and all of the hard work at the World Trade Center site will benefit not only those coming to reflect on their own connection to Sept. 11, but to the generations who will not remember the event first-hand.

You can help make this meaningful tribute a reality by voting this week for the 9/11 Memorial as your choice for the American Express/Take Part Members Project. This online effort to win a $200,000 prize ends on August 22, 2010 and those funds will directly ensure the continued construction, operations, and meaningful educational work of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, an enduring tribute at the World Trade Center site where millions will come to remember for generations.

It only takes a few moments to register your email . . . and literally seconds to vote at the link below.

Please show this video and encourage your friends and family to vote. Post it to your Facebook and Twitter accounts and help us spread the word!

http://www.takepart.com/membersproject/vote

By the 9/11 Memorial Staff

In case you missed it. The Associated Press reported that the relatives of those killed in the World Trade Center attack will read the names of the dead with the people involved in rebuilding the trade center site as part of the ceremony for the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Reading the names of the people killed in the attacks is the focus of the annual ceremony.  According to the AP report, at first only relatives read the names, but "categories of people such as volunteers and emergency service workers were invited to participate in recent years."

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who chairs the 9/11 Memorial, and Gov. David Paterson penned a joint letter to victims' families of this year's planned pairing. The letter said that "to recognize all those who are working so hard to rebuild the site, for this year's reading of the names, family members will be paired with representatives involved in its redevelopment including architects and engineers, construction workers and administrators."

The 9/11 ceremony will take place in Zuccotti Park, a few yards from the World Trade Center site.

By 9/11 Memorial staff

It's more than dirt. The mixture of gravel and nutrient-rich organic material being spread at the construction site of the 9/11 Memorial is the thoroughly-planned  foundation for more than 400 trees.

The so-called structural soil has two functions. The gravel helps create space for oxygen and water to reach tree roots, while providing enough stability to handle the plaza it will support. The organic material provides the nutrients to help the trees grow and remain healthy. Worm skin and excrement is part of the organic material combined with the gravel.

Currently, the soil is being spread on a nearly 13,000-square-foot area on the plaza, enough space to support up to 18 of the memorial trees, according to Gareth Eckmann, director of construction for the 9/11 Memorial.

The process of preparing the memorial plaza for the trees was the subject of a DNAinfo.com report written by Julie Shapiro.  The report was accompanied by a photo slideshow, where you can find more photos like the one used for this MEMO blog post. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey also posted pictures of the work on its website.

The plaza will eventually hold 18,000 cubic yards of this soil, according to the report.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum has collaborated with the September 11thEducation Trust and the Social Studies School Service to create commemorative education resources showcasing the many ways people chose to respond to 9/11 through art.  Following the events of 9/11, many people turned to artistic channels as part of the grieving, healing, recovery, rebuilding, and understanding process.  Such artistic works show not only how art serves as a means for self-expression but as a vehicle for community-building and growth.

One notable work is a replica of Lady Liberty, an inspiring example of the artistic response to 9/11.  Soon after the events of 9/11, a 250-pound plastic replica of the Statue of Liberty was placed outside the New York City firehouse at 8th Avenue and West 48th Street, Engine 54/Ladder 4/Battalion 9, which lost 15 men at the World Trade Center.  The statue, which is over 10 feet tall, quickly became decorated with tribute items, such as condolence letters, badges, cards, rosary beads and many other items left by the public.

Lady Liberty, now covered head to toe with tributes, represents the artistic response to 9/11 and a method for healing in the community.  The statue can be viewed at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site, 20 Vesey St.

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum will continue to work with educators to create dynamic learning resources and create a more comprehensive understanding of the attacks, the aftermath, and impact 9/11 continues to have on the world in which we live.

By Meghan Walsh, Communications Associate for the 9/11 Memorial

Visitors to the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site are now watching an updated version of the Project Rebirth short film. Screenings of the updated version began Wednesday at the preview site at 20 Vesey St.

The segment integrates new stunning time-lapse footage of the construction of the 9/11 Memorial and World Trade Center Tower One. The pace of construction has been frenetic over the last year and this never-before-seen footage captures the rebuilding effort from some incredible vantage points, enhancing what is already a very moving and poignant short film being offered to preview site visitors.

The short film was specifically produced by Project Rebirth for the preview site.  The piece has riveted hundreds of thousands of visitors. Read more about the documentary film project and its director Jim Whitaker here.

The preview site provides visitors with authentic artifacts, detailed architecture models, renderings and an on-site recording booth for collecting 9/11-related stories and remembrances.

The preview site, which has greeted more than 960,000 visitors, is also home to the "9/11, Today and Tomorrow" speakers series, which will continue in the fall. Among the presenters will be Jim Whitaker. More details are coming soon. Log onto The MEMO or check the 9/11 Memorial's website for updates.

By Ryan Pawling, Coordinator of Partnerships for the 9/11 Memorial