May 30, 2002 Commemoration

We will gather on Tuesday, May 30 at 3:30 p.m. on the 9/11 Memorial Glade in honor of all 9/11 rescue, recovery, and relief workers, as well as those who are sick or have died from illnesses linked to exposure to hazards and toxins in the aftermath of 9/11 at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, or near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The Memorial Glade, a tranquil space dedicated to this community, is flanked by six large stone monoliths. Each monolith is inlaid with World Trade Center steel and stands as a symbol of strength and determination through adversity. The event will also be streamed live for those unable to attend in person. Watch here beginning at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. 

The May 30, 2002 Commemoration is made possible in part by support from Joel S. Marcus / Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.

9/11 rescue, recovery, and relief workers, as well as survivors, members of the downtown community, and family members of those who have died due to 9/11-related illness and injury will receive free Museum admission for themselves and up to three guests from Saturday, May 27 through Tuesday, May 30. The Museum will be open exclusively for this community from 4:30 p.m. until close on the 30th.

In the aftermath of September 11th, roughly 1.5 million tons of debris was transported by truck and barge from Ground Zero to Fresh Kills, a recently closed landfill in Staten Island. Once the largest landfill in the world, Fresh Kills became the primary location to sort through and investigate the World Trade Center wreckage. To mark this extraordinary story of 9/11 response, FBI Supervisory Special Agent Richard Marx, who served as Incident Co-Commander, is joined by the former Director of the Bureau of Waste Disposal of the Department of Sanitation, Martin Bellew, and former NYPD Lieutenant Commander of Detectives, Roger Parrino. Together in conversation with Museum Director Clifford Chanin, they discuss setting up interagency operations, the complex process to recover human remains, personal effects, and evidence, and the ongoing health effects suffered by the recovery community.   

At 5:30 p.m. on May 30, we will also host a special screening of No Responders Left Behind, a documentary that follows the advocacy efforts of Jon Stewart and John Feal to obtain health benefits and compensation for the thousands of rescue and recovery workers and survivors who are suffering with illnesses and injuries as a consequence of the attacks of 9/11.

Share your own message of gratitude and appreciation for those on the frontlines, both in the aftermath of 9/11 and now, by participating in our “Dear Hero” campaign. In the days after 9/11, children from around the world wrote letters and created heartfelt drawings and other tokens of gratitude to recognize the efforts and sacrifice of first responders. Download the template, write a “Dear Hero” message, and share it on your social media to help honor our heroes today.

Unprecedented rescue, relief, and recovery efforts began immediately after the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City, at the Pentagon, and the Flight 93 crash site in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. At all three attack sites, days, weeks, and months were spent extinguishing fires, clearing debris, and searching for survivors. It took nine months to remove about 1.8 million tons of material from the World Trade Center site.

In the aftermath of 9/11, donations of money and supplies poured in, and thousands of people volunteered to help. Public and private partnerships supported lower Manhattan’s recovery, growth, and revitalization, balancing the need to remember and honor victims with the goal of rebuilding a strong and vibrant community.

During the nine-month recovery and cleanup operation at the World Trade Center, many thousands of individuals transformed what some called “the pile”—a scene of mass destruction dominated by a vast mountain of tangled steel—into an excavated pit reaching 70 feet belowground.

In recent years, individuals with 9/11-related illnesses, health care advocates, and lawmakers on Capitol Hill united in that same spirit to ensure the passage of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. The law, first introduced in 2006, was named for a New York City homicide detective who died that year and had worked at Ground Zero. Finally enacted in 2011, then reauthorized in 2015, the Zadroga Act provides financial compensation to people with 9/11-related illnesses. It also established the World Trade Center Health Program, which monitors or treats more than 95,000 people living in all 50 states. In 2019, following an intense lobbying effort by 9/11 health advocates and their supporters, the Never Forget the Heroes Act was passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump, extending the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund through 2092.