In Memory of the Victims of 9/11

I really don't think there are any words good enough to remember the victims and heroes of September 11, 2001.

It was of course, a hugely devastating day and so many innocent people had their lives taken away. I really wanted to do a post in memory of all of those who lost their lives. World Trade Centre employees, firemen, police officers, medical staff. The people of New York. And of course, my greatest sympathy goes out to all of those who lost their loved ones that day. 

Last year, for my 18th birthday, my parents paid for me to to have a holiday in New York. It just so happened that I was there during September for the anniversary. Here are a few photos I took for myself that I myself have reflected over today, and just for you to have a look over. From the billboards remembering the victims, memorials from around the city, the official 9/11 Memorial Gardens and also St Paul's Church, where many of the firemen and responders rested in between their shifts of helping to clear away rubble and searching for missing people.

I definitely recommend visiting the Memorial Gardens and church if you ever have an opportunity to visit New York. I was so moved emotionally by the tributes and I think it made me gain a new level of understanding of the depths of the effects of 9/11. We are regularly told that 3000 people had their lives taken, but when you read each individual name and imagine that person having a life full of family and friends, it really was an emotional experience.

An electronic billboard remembering those who lost their lives

The Empire State building lit up in the American Flag colours in memory of 9/11 victims

Two beams are sent up into the sky where the Towers once stood, on the anniversary of 9/11 every year. It made me so emotional. The only thing I remember saying is "They go all the way to heaven".

This Fire Station was the first to respond to the events of 9/11 in New York. None of the firemen survived. In the bottom right corner you can see a few tributes, but on the far left next to the mirror is a memorial also.

This is the official memorial for the fire station I previously mentioned. It is situated round the corner from the fire station, and has been funded by the family and friends of those firemen lost. The black centrepiece is a fountain and their names are engraved. I was extremely touched by the amount of flowers, which had been planted in fire buckets.

The Bell in the gardens of St Paul's Church. The Church is only round the corner from where the World Trade Center stood, but miraculously was undamaged. Every year the bell is rang in memory.

Firefighters and police officers from all over the world came to New York after the tragic events, to help search for those missing and to start clearing away the rubble. Many of them have left their badges showing where they are from in the Church as a sign of respect. There were many from the UK that I spotted including Durham and Leeds.

A photo from inside the 9/11 Memorial Gardens. It's such a beautiful memorial. There are two waterfalls where the Twin Towers stood, and the names of every victim of the attacks on the World Trade Center in the 1990s and 2001 are around them. Family members and friends often place flowers in the names, and it really touched me.

The stars will shine that little bit brighter. Heaven is that little more full. And we will remember you forever.

♥♥♥