Dear Family Member -
As the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches, we would like to share with you some important information about the Memorial dedication plans for the victims’ family members. Even in light of President Obama’s important announcement of Osama bin Laden’s death on Sunday, we remain focused on our mission of honoring the nearly 3,000 men, women, and children who were killed on 9/11. On the solemn and historic occasion of the 10th anniversary, the City of New York will once again host a commemoration ceremony, and the National September 11 Memorial will open for the first time. You should expect to receive information on the commemoration from the City of New York in the coming months. On the day of the ceremony, you will be able to visit the Memorial and view your loved one’s inscribed name.
The names of the 2,982 individuals killed in the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the bombing on February 26, 1993 are inscribed in bronze around the perimeters of the Memorial pools, which are located in the footprints of the Twin Towers. As you know, the names are arranged by where victims were and who they were with, and further requests for specific names to be located next to one another were made by the next-of-kin and affiliations of those who were lost. It was especially meaningful to us to honor the more than 1,200 adjacency requests that we received. The process of arranging and inscribing the names in bronze is complete, and installation on the Memorial is well underway.
Today we sent a mailing to the next-of-kin of every victim that includes information about where the names are located on the Memorial. Every name on the Memorial has a location on a specific panel around one of the pools (north or south). Each panel has a unique marker that identifies the pool by letter (N for north pool or S for south pool), followed by a number (1 through 76) that corresponds to the panel on that pool.
Along with this e-mail we have just launched a special website where you can explore the full names arrangement and the meaningful relationships that guide it. To view the entire arrangement of names, please visit names.911memorial.org. The same application will also be available on mobile smartphones and tablets, as well as on dedicated kiosks on the Memorial Plaza. This version of the website includes information provided to us during the 2009 names verification process; we intend to continue to add meaningful information over time. We hope that you will review the website and share it with other family members and friends.
We will continue to keep you informed by mail and e-mail as the 10th anniversary approaches. Please visit our website—www.911memorial.org—for more information on issues we know are important to family members. You may also contact us by phone at 1-877-671-1636 (toll free) or email at memorial@911memorial.org.
We continue to keep you and the memory of your loved one in our thoughts, and we hope to see you this September.
Warm regards,
Joe Daniels, 9/11 Memorial President and CEO
