Sept. 11 memorial coming to Aurora
Six years later, the wounds have yet to heal.
But suburban residents can pay their respects to those who died in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as well as those involved in rescue efforts, this weekend when a traveling memorial stops in Aurora.
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum's free exhibit will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Aurora Transportation Center, 233 N. Broadway.
An opening ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday featuring the mayor and police and fire officials.
The national tour began Sept. 10 in South Carolina, and Aurora is one of about 25 stops this fall. It is the tour's only stop in Illinois.
The mobile display is part of an outreach effort to raise awareness of and funds for building a permanent tribute at Ground Zero in New York.
Before its arrival, Joe Daniels, president of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, answers a few questions.
Q. Why did your organization choose Aurora as a stop?
A. Part of the rationale behind this tour is to recognize the people affected by Sept. 11. In many ways, they came from heart-of-America cities and towns. We wanted to do one city from each state; Aurora was a perfect place to pick.
Q. What does the exhibit include?
A. Both pictorial images of what happened on that day and how this country came together in response and a video of firsthand accounts from survivors, emergency responders and family members.
We're asking thousands of people to sign their name on a (37-foot-long) steel beam, to leave a message of hope. That beam will be used in the actual tribute.
Q. What's the status of that tribute?
A. It's fully in construction. (The tribute features two reflecting pools on the footprints of the Twin Towers, with 30-foot-tall waterfalls cascading into them. Inscribed around the pools will be the names of those who died on Sept. 11 and in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. There also will be a below-ground museum.)
We expect to open the memorial in late 2009. We're trying to raise $350 million for it; we've raised just over $325 million so far.
This tour is less about big corporate donations than about involving everyday Americans who can do whatever they can. If all that is is signing their name, that's great by us.
Q. What do you want people to come away with after visiting the exhibit?
A. The most important thing I hope they come away with is a remembrance of how we came together. That was a day that we saw the worst of humanity; we also saw the best of humanity in our response.
People are certainly coming out to remember those who were lost, but they're also using it as a way to stop what they're doing during the day and thank our first responders for their services.
It's one of those dates in American history that reminds us about who we are.
Q. What kind of reaction have you been getting so far?
A. Parents have taken their children who weren't old enough to remember Sept. 11 to see the exhibit. We're seeing that sort of generation educational process, where parents explain to their kids what happened.
That's the big message we're getting back; that all the sacrifices that were made, the people who died, the people who rushed in to help, visitors feel it is their personal obligation to come down and be a part of this.
If you go
What: National September 11 Memorial & Museum traveling exhibition
When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Where: Aurora Transportation Center, 233 N. Broadway
Cost: Free
Info: national911memorial.org