The MEMO Blog

The 2,977 people killed in the 9/11 attacks came from a wide range of backgrounds. On this St. Patrick’s Day, even as we are temporarily closed, we remember several people who celebrated their Irish heritage in personal objects they owned or whose loved ones memorialized them with Irish-referencing tribute items.

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum will be temporarily closed starting March 13 as part of the New York City and New York State mandates to combat and contain the COVID-19 virus.

Last week, celebrated New York City restaurateur Danny Meyer participated in a public program at the 9/11 Memorial Museum as part of the “New York Stories” program series.

John O’Neill was a leading figure in the FBI’s fight against terrorism at home and abroad in the years leading up to 9/11. He repeatedly sounded the alarm about the rising threat posed by organizations like al-Qaeda—and his life would ultimately be cut short in that group’s plot to attack the World Trade Center.

On Thursday, March 5, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum will host a public program featuring celebrated restaurateur Danny Meyer, who will reflect upon the impact of the 9/11 attacks on New York City and the restorative role of restaurants as sites of community and connection.

On September 11, 2001, Jon Leiken was in his law office in Times Square when he received a phone call from his wife, Erika, who was eight-and-a-half-months pregnant. At the time, Erika was working as an attorney with the Legal Aid Society just a few blocks from the World Trade Center. 

Retired FBI agent Wesley Wong recalls noting what a beautiful morning it was on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. His workday began at an FBI garage facility just north of the World Trade Center, where he learned from a mechanic that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. 

I first met Sonia Agron in 2014 during training for the opening of the 9/11 Memorial Museum. We were both preparing to be part of the Museum’s Education team, she as a docent and I as an Interpretive Guide. 

Michael Hingson has been blind since birth due to a disease called retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). In his infancy, doctors suggested his parents send him to a home for the blind, where they could take better care of him.

When Julie Sweeney Roth first saw Brian Sweeney, she told a  friend “that’s the kind of guy [she] would marry.” Seven months later, she and Brian had their wedding on Cape Cod, a place Brian had always loved and where the couple would eventually live permanently.