{"id":212709,"date":"2020-09-11T13:50:55","date_gmt":"2020-09-11T17:50:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/?p=212709"},"modified":"2020-09-11T16:15:36","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T20:15:36","slug":"remembering-9-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/2020\/09\/11\/remembering-9-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering 9\/11"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note: Assistant Professor Thomas E. Franklin <\/a>wrote the following piece about his remembrances of 9\/11 in 2008 for The Record<\/em> (northjersey.com), where he worked while covering 9\/11. His photo was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2002<\/a> and was made into a United States Postal Service fundraising Heroes<\/strong> <\/em>stamp. Proceeds have generated over $10 million dollars for those affected by 9\/11. The following remembrance also served a voiceover for this video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Late on the afternoon of September 11th 2001, I made a photograph of three firefighters raising a flag amid the rubble of the World Trade Center.<\/p>\n

For many, the image has become a symbol of that tragic day. From the moment it was first published in The Record<\/em>, it has made its way into the public consciousness.<\/p>\n

For me, it was something that just happened, a moment to which I was witness. I shot it the best I could and moved on.<\/p>\n

The events of that day, and the other photographs I made, are every bit as vivid and significant to me. And they always will be.<\/p>\n

I remember the chill I felt shortly after 9 a.m. as I rode the elevator from the fourth floor at The Record<\/em> in Hackensack and saw the burning north tower across the Hudson.<\/p>\n

I recall my despair after losing my last shots of the World Trade Center still standing as two towers. They disappeared when a policeman jostled me, jarring my digital camera.<\/p>\n

I remember my stunned disbelief as the first and then the second tower collapsed amidst a dense cloud.<\/p>\n

From where I stood, the enormous eruption blocked out an otherwise brilliant blue sky, as the towers seemed to fall without a sound.<\/p>\n

I remember hiding behind my camera as I made pictures of injured victims being treated at a triage center at Exchange Place in Jersey City. I peered through the viewfinder, tears filling my eyes and streaming down my cheek.<\/p>\n

I recall the adrenaline rush I felt as a tugboat ferried me from New Jersey toward the burning skyline, toward a cityscape I longer recognized.<\/p>\n

I remember the silent pep talk I gave myself as I got off that boat. My job was to document and record history, not to become emotionally impaired. I needed to stay focused.<\/p>\n

I still can\u2019t comprehend the devastation I found. The fallen towers I had made so many pictures of since I was a child were now a huge mound of mangled metal and ash. Only a few strands of the fa\u00e7ade remained intact.<\/p>\n

I made pictures of two firemen hopelessly trying to douse the smoke with a faint stream of water \u2013 the facade looming behind them like a ghost.<\/p>\n

Then I made my way around the perimeter, trying to stay clear of the firemen and rescue workers.<\/p>\n

But it was so disorienting. West Street was here? The Trade Center plaza was there?<\/p>\n

Where was I? The dust turned everything gray. It filled the air and littered the landscape with calculators, shoes, framed photos, couch cushions, and financial reports.<\/p>\n

I made images of firemen searching for survivors and of people transfixed by shock. I climbed and slid around shards of metal and mounds of crumbled material, at times standing ankle-deep in water.<\/p>\n

At about quarter to five, the firemen and rescue workers began evacuating the ground zero area.<\/p>\n

Building 7 was about to collapse \u2013 the very same building I was standing near just a few hours earlier.<\/p>\n

I followed them a block west to a first-aid area, where food and drinks were available. There were hundreds of firemen and rescue personnel there.<\/p>\n

It looked like a wake. Everyone was quiet, with their heads down.<\/p>\n

But it was getting late. I knew I needed to get back to my car parked in Jersey City as soon as possible. I had only a few frames left on my camera and a whole day’s worth of pictures recorded.<\/p>\n

Before I left, I decided to take one last look, so I walked back into Ground Zero.<\/p>\n

That’s when I saw the firemen with the flag, and a flagpole wedged at an odd angle atop a pile of rubble about 15 feet high.<\/p>\n

I waited, unsure what was happening.<\/p>\n

“Hey, come see this,” I called to another photographer.<\/p>\n

Just then the fireman in the center, Dan McWilliams, hoisted the flag up the pole. His colleagues, George Johnson and Billy Eisengrein, looked on.<\/p>\n

I was about 30 yards away. I pointed my zoom lens and shot a burst of frames as the flag went up.<\/p>\n

I ran over to where they were, but by then the firefighters had climbed down and walked past me.<\/p>\n

It was over that quickly. I don\u2019t think New York’s bravest had any idea that their spontaneous act of patriotism was being photographed.<\/p>\n

I do recall recognizing the obvious similarity to Joe Rosenthal\u2019s Iwo Jima image, and I certainly was aware of the symbolism happening before my eyes.<\/p>\n

But there was no way to predict its broader impact. I made a few last photographs of the flag flying, with the Trade Center wreckage in the background. Then I hitched a boat ride back to Jersey.<\/p>\n

I didn’t cover any of the Ground Zero search and recovery, or venture back to lower Manhattan to steal a peek. My first return was while covering the first anniversary.<\/p>\n

That day, I made my way down into the pit where a wicked wind cruelly greeted thousands of weeping loved ones. Again, I remember shooting through tears. This was far more difficult than 9\/11. The emotion was so raw and vast.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t stay long. But before I left, I made some photos of an extended family wearing the same shirt. \u201cWe love you Jim,\u201d was printed on the back.<\/p>\n

I didn’t talk to them. I just quietly observed with my camera.<\/p>\n

Later that day, I learned that Jim was James Brian Reilly, a young bond trader working in the south tower.<\/p>\n

Shortly after he called his father to assure him he was safe on the 89th floor, a 2nd plane slammed the WTC ending his young life.<\/p>\n

I also learned something else: It turns out he was the only victim of the 9\/11 attacks who graduated from my high school, Walt Whitman HS in Huntington NY.<\/p>\n

For me, the story of 9\/11 is far reaching and its effect immeasurable. On this 7th anniversary, I still struggle to find some meaning to it all.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Assistant Professor Thomas E. Franklin<\/a>, 9\/11\/2008<\/p>\n