A volunteer organization born out of the 9/11 is helping to coordinate one of the largest volunteer service events in Arkansas. Earlier this month, The New York Says Thank You Foundation worked jointly with the Polk County Arkansas Long Term Recovery Committee and the Polk County 4-H Foundation to bring hundreds of volunteers from New York City and across the country to help rebuild Mena, Ark.

The rural town is about 140 miles west of Little Rock, Ark., the state's capitol city.  The town was devastated by a tornado on April 9, 2009 that killed three of the town's residents. Hundreds of homes were destroyed and damaged. To mark the 9th anniversary of 9/11, New York Says Thank You partner with the local organizations and volunteers across the country to help rebuild the town.

Jeff Parness of New York Says Thank You is traveling the nation to restore a U.S. flag recovered from ground zero. Ashen, tattered and blowing in the wind, the torn flag was recovered after the World Trade Center crumbled.  The flag was stitched back together several years later and grew into a symbol that reinforces the same commitment to service and volunteerism experienced across the country and world on Sept. 12, 2001.

On the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the flag will embark on a national tour to be restitched to its original glory. The first stop for the National 9/11 Flag was Mena.

After the flag makes its journey across America, it will return to New York City, where it will be added to the permanent collection of the 9/11 Memorial Museum.

By New York Says Thank You

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MSNBC produced the above video over a 24-hour period, capturing in time-laspe footage the ongoing construction work of the 9/11 Memorial and other projects planned at the World Trade Center site. Scroll over the "options" tab on the video player to view in full-creen mode.

By 9/11 Memorial Staff

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By 9/11 Memorial Staff

The extraordinary artifact, “Lady Liberty,” is brought to life online through technology allowing users to learn more about the tributes and memorials placed on the replica that once stood outside a firehouse on Eighth Avenue and West 48th Street in Manhattan.  Following 9/11, the Lady Liberty replica, which measures more than 10 feet, was adorned with police uniform patches, miniature U.S. flags, letters of encouragement and other tributes and memorials.

The online application was designed by Archetype, an interactive and engineering firm out of California. The firm is also developing an interactive 9/11 Timeline that includes actual recordings from survivors, first responders and witnesses to the events, as well as images related to 9/11.   

“Archetype was honored to work on the interactive Timeline and Lady Liberty applications, helping to further the mission of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. The interactive Timeline allows users to experience 9/11 through a variety of perspectives and rich media, helping foster a deeper understanding of the day’s events,” said Michael Lucaccini, President, Archetype. 

Archetype CEO Danny Riddell said, “Our goal in building the Lady Liberty application was to make users feel, through an interactive experience, as if they are standing in front of the physical statue, taking in every detail, tribute and memorial.”  

"Lady Liberty" is also the centerpiece for educations materials, including a teaching guide called "Tribute Art and 9/11: Healing through Artistic Responses." Created jointly by The September 11th Education Trust and the Social Studies School Service, it provides teaching tools on educating students on 9/11.

The actual Lady Liberty replica is on display at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site, 20 Vesey St.   

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

On this ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, we join together in solemn remembrance. Our hearts go out to the families and friends who should never have had to bear such tragic losses.

By remembering today the thousands of people killed nine years ago, who simply going about their everyday lives, we recognize ourselves in the story of 9/11 and our responsibility as survivors to overcome an atrocity that shook us to our core.  By remembering the more than 400 first responders who perished solemnly performing their sworn duty that day, we honor those who sacrifice for our enduring freedom, both here at home and overseas.

Today, we also remember how people around the world came together in the aftermath of the attacks to stand in solidarity against terrorism. It is in this same spirit that we come together once again to build a lasting 9/11 Memorial to honor the victims.

This time next year, we will dedicate the Memorial on the tenth anniversary of the attacks. Every day, we are moving closer to reaching this goal through real and visible progress. Two weeks ago, life began to grow at the World Trade Center with the arrival of the first 16 of more than 400 trees that will line the Memorial.

The trees will surround the acre-size waterfalls with structures that have already been built in the footprints of the Twin Towers, around which the names of the nearly 3,000 people killed on 9/11 will be incised in bronze.  Standing among these first trees, one can now truly envision the finished memorial: the canopy of leaves overhead, glowing stretches of bronze panels, cascades of water falling away from sight, a reverential calm within one of New York City’s busiest neighborhoods.

Life on the 9/11 Memorial site will continue to grow thanks to the hundreds of construction workers who know this project is much more than just another job; every day they build history on these eight acres at the sacred heart of the place known as Ground Zero.

We ask people around the world to join us in paying their respects to the victims today.  Next year, we will honor their memory by dedicating a memorial that will be testament that our shared humanity is stronger than the hate that sought to tear us down on 9/11.

Update:I'm humbled by the respectful responses to the words I've shared here with you today. Thank you for your comments. I encourage you to return to The MEMO blog as often as you like to learn more about the work here at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, including our commitment to honor the people who were killed in the terror attacks and to open the 9/11 Memorial next year on the 10th anniversary.

By Joe Daniels, CEO and President of the 9/11 Memorial

CNN provided extensive coverage of the Memorial today. Please view a news story featuring a tour of the Memorial and read an opinion piece by 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels on the CNN.com website by clicking here.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who serves as chairman of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, hosted the charity's third annual benefit dinner last night. Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" served as the event's master of ceremonies. Bloomberg was a recent guest on Stewart's show. 

The dinner put a spotlight on the progress made toward the goal of opening the 9/11 Memorial on the 10th anniversary of the attacks. It also highlighted teh stories of volunteerism and compassion that was spawned from the events of Sept. 11th.

During the benefit, Robert Wood Johnson, IV, the New York Jet's chairman and chief executive officer, was presented with the "Distinction in Corporate Citizenship" award. Time Warner Inc. was honored for the "Distinction in Rebuilding" award. Jeff Bewkes, the chairman and CEO for Time Warner, accepted the award.

The benefit dinner was held at Cipriani Wall Street in Manhattan.

9/11 Memorial staff

(Eds Note: The installation is ongoing. This post will be updated as developments occur.)

The so-called steel "tridents," historic remnants of the Twin Towers’ façade, is being permanently installed in the 9/11 Memorial Museum.  The 70-foot high columns known as “tridents” because of their three-pronged tops, were salvaged from the wreckage of the north tower. Each weighs about 50 tons, and will be on permanent display within the atrium of the Museum Pavilion.

After being salvaged from the wreckage, the “tridents” were housed at John F. Kennedy Airport’s Hangar 17 with other recovered WTC artifacts.  The tridents are currently covered in a white protective covering to prevent any damage  during continued construction of the Museum.

Update: One of the two steel tridents was successfully placed in position. Read more about it in this Associated Press report. Separately, Bloomberg's Henry Goldman reported on the overall status of the reconstruction at the World Trade Center site.

9/11 Memorial staff

This week, our team was down in the World Trade Center site to look at the placement for the Project Rebirth camera that has been recording the progress of construction around the Survivors' Stair at the future 9/11 Memorial Museum.  There are currently 14 Project Rebirth cameras located around the WTC site to chronicle the reconstruction efforts.

This historic stair was the last remnant of the North Tower to be cleared from the site and became a symbol of survival for the tens of thousands who used stairs to escape the World Trade Center towers on 9/11. After the Stair was returned to the World Trade Center site in 2009, this special camera has been capturing the building of the museum around this important artifact - from viewing open sky, to the closing structure of steel girders for the Memorial Plaza above, and finally the finishing of interior concrete.

As the building of the 9/11 Museum continues apace, our camera will be moved to a new location, making way for continuing construction, with a wider vantage point to keep recording the progress in 35 mm film.  The above photo shows the perspective of the new location. Stay updated on Project Rebirth on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ProjectRebirth

Also, the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site, 20 Vesey St., features an exclusive segment of Project Rebirth.

By Caitlin Olson

Olson is the Executive Director of Project Rebirth

9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni has welcomed the arrival and planting of the first trees on the Memorial Plaza at the World Trade Center site.

The Swamp White Oak trees planted are the first of about 400 planned for the Memorial Plaza, which features a complex soil supported paving surface and a unique cistern system designed to sustain the urban forest. The trees were carried two by two on flatbed trucks to the World Trade Center site from a nursery in New Jersey, where they have been growing since 2007.

Environmental Design is caring for the trees and coordinated the move and planting on Saturday.  The average height of the trees is currently 30 feet with leaf canopies between 18 feet and 20 feet wide.  They are expected to grow to heights reaching 80 feet.

“The planting of the first trees on the Memorial marks a special moment in the rebuilding of the World Trade Center,”9/11 Memorial Chairman Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said. “Over this next year, the trees will continue to be planted in stages as sections of the Memorial Plaza are completed. The Memorial grove consisting of approximately 400 trees will symbolize hope and renewal, and create a vital new green space in the heart of Lower Manhattan. ”

9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels said, "These are the first of hundreds of trees that will grace the Memorial’s landscape as a symbol of rebirth at the World Trade Center site. The trees will create a space of reflection, and remembrance apart from the sights and sounds of the City.”

Update: Read more about the landmark tree planting in the New York Daily News or the New York Post. In addition to the CBS broadcast above, here's the story on the CBS New York website, which features a radio report by 1010 WINS.

Staff photographer Amy Dreher spent most of the night and morning photographing the incoming memorial trees. Take a look through her lens.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager of the 9/11 Memorial