With it being the 25th anniversary of 9/11 there has been a lot of content on YouTube about the events of that day, and even though I have watched many different stories, there are still some I hadn’t heard before this week.
For example, I had no idea that when the second plane hit the south tower it literally sliced people in half who were standing in what was called the sky tower, a huge elevator lobby on the 78th floor. Apparently that earned it the name ‘the gore floor’. ? There were just a handful of people who were in that lobby when the plane hit who were able to escape the carnage and get out of the building before it collapsed. It was amazing to hear them describe what they went through, and I can only imagine the terror they must have felt.
Another interesting thing I learned is that two and a half decades later only 60% of the people who died that day have been positively identified.
There’s a room in the 9/11 Memorial that holds all the unidentified remains. When they make an identification they label it and contact the family who can choose whether they want to take possession of it. If not, it is stored in the room indefinitely. They can also visit the room and talk to this one woman who is a 9/11 grief counselor of sorts. She speaks to victims’ families on the phone as well. It’s really fascinating and sad.
Needless to say, I cried a lot watching those videos.