Lent by Joseph W. Pfeifer
Photo by Terry McCrea

One of the first fire-and-rescue units to arrive at the World Trade Center was Engine 7, Ladder 1, led by Battalion Chief Joseph Pfeifer. While on a routine call nearby, Pfeifer had seen the first plane hit. He set up a command center in the lobby of the north tower and sent firefighters upstairs to begin rescue work.

When the south tower collapsed, sending blinding clouds of smoke and dust into the north tower, Pfeifer radioed his men to evacuate the building. Soon afterward, the north tower collapsed.

Everyone from Ladder 1 survived, but hundreds of other firefighters were killed, including the chief's brother, Lt. Kevin Pfeifer.

Gift of the Police Department-City of New York
Photo by Hugh Talman

Less than two hours elapsed from the first plane crash to the last tower collapse at the World Trade Center. In that time, thousands of people escaped from the buildings. While many evacuated quickly, others battled blocked stairwells, stuck elevators, smoke, and panic to make their escape. Nearly all who survived were below the point of impact when the planes hit the towers. Among those who died were hundreds of rescue workers who had helped others to safety.

Lent by the U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Historical Center
Photo by Hugh Talman

Staff members in the Navy Command Center were watching live news coverage of the World Trade Center attacks when a hijacked plane struck the Pentagon at 9:38 a.m. Fireballs, ignited by jet fuel, set the building ablaze and filled the sky with plumes of black smoke. The impact caused severe damage, but structural reinforcements kept the building from collapsing immediately, allowing many to escape. The attack killed 184 innocent people, including 125 Pentagon employees and 59 people on the plane. Many of the navy personnel killed on September 11 worked in the command center, which was located in the D ring near the impact site.

Lent by the County of Somerset, Somerset, Pennsylvania, honoring the passengers and crew of Flight 93
Photo by Hugh Talman

The fourth plane hijacked on September 11, United Airlines Flight 93, left Newark International Airport at 8:42 a.m. At 10:06 a.m., the plane crashed in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, killing everyone on board but sparing what officials believe was another intended target in Washington, D.C.

Soon afterward, the crash site near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, became a shrine. People traveled for miles to pay their respects to the heroes of Flight 93. Many felt compelled to leave something behind. Thousands of memorial offerings have been left at the site since September 2001.

Transfer from the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Photo by Hugh Talman

American flags, raised over the ruins and recovered from the rubble, became powerful symbols of patriotism, survival, and resilience after September 11. In October 2001, recovery workers at the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island found this small, tattered flag amid the debris from the World Trade Center. This is one of several flags recovered from Ground Zero. Others have been displayed at the World Series, the Super Bowl, and the Olympics; carried aboard naval warships; and even flown into space.

Courtesy of Tim Shaffer

Tim Shaffer, a contract photographer for the Reuters news agency, could not get through to the Washington office on the morning of September 11. At home with his family in Delaware, he started paging Reuters at 11 a.m. He finally reached them by internet instant messaging, asking if he should leave for New York. The answer was no, go to Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Shaffer photographed the crash site and transmitted the digital images to Reuters using his cell phone.

Courtesy of the family of William G. Biggart

Bill Biggart walked the two miles from his home in Manhattan to reach the World Trade Center as soon as he learned of the first plane hitting the north tower. A longtime New York portrait photographer turned photojournalist, Biggart knew it was important to get as close to the action as possible. But on September 11, the dramatic photos he obtained cost him his life. Biggart was the only professional photographer to die at Ground Zero; his last image of the fallen south tower was taken minutes before his death during the collapse of the north tower.

Matthew Farley

Matthew Farley, a World Trade Center lawyer, tracks the fate of his office staff on September 11 using his BlackBerry wireless e-mail device.

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Liz Howell

Liz Howell, the wife of a Pentagon victim, tells how carrying the Olympic flame was a meaningful remembrance of her lost husband.

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Many of us watched the horrific events of September 11 unfold on our television screens. What was it like for those on the other side of the news desk, the television journalists who broadcast history as it was being made? In a short video presentation specially produced for this exhibition, ABC News anchor Peter Jennings reflects on his September 11 experience and the role of the news media as a witness to history.

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Peter Jennings at the news desk
Photo courtesy of ABC News