Posts Tagged ‘911’

Today’s Boston September 11 commemorations.

Governor Charlie Baker summed up the feelings of most in attendance at the Massachusetts State House by briefly pausing to shed a tear, as he recalled a family visit to the World Trade Center towers shortly before the attacks, on this date, 14 years ago. Below are my Boston Herald photos from the ceremony at the Massachusetts 911 memorial, in the Public Garden, the State House ceremony as a bell was sounded for every Massachusetts’ victim as their names were called, and then the Sweeney award presentation, named for the heroic flight attendant Madeline Amy Sweeney who died in American Airlines Flight 11.

09/11/2015-Boston,MA. An emotional Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker speaks at Friday morning's State House ceremony where the names of the Massachusetts' victims of the September 11 terror attacks were read aloud. Staff Photo by Mark Garfinkel

09/11/2015-Boston,MA. An emotional Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker speaks at Friday morning’s State House ceremony where the names of the Massachusetts’ victims of the September 11 terror attacks were read aloud. Staff Photo by Mark Garfinkel

09/11/2015-Boston,MA. Flowers are left at the Massachusetts 911 memorial during Friday morning's ceremony commemorating the14th anniversary of the 2001 terror attacks  . Staff Photo by Mark Garfinkel

09/11/2015-Boston,MA. Flowers are left at the Massachusetts 911 memorial during Friday morning’s ceremony commemorating the14th anniversary of the 2001 terror attacks . Staff Photo by Mark Garfinkel

09/11/2015-Boston,MA. Boston mayor Martin J. Walsh is seen at Friday morning's ceremony at the Massachusetts 911 memorial. Staff Photo by Mark Garfinkel

09/11/2015-Boston,MA. Boston mayor Martin J. Walsh is seen at Friday morning’s ceremony at the Massachusetts 911 memorial. Staff Photo by Mark Garfinkel

09/11/2015-Boston,MA. Christie Coombs, the wife of Jeffrey Coombs, who died in the September 11 terror attacks, is seen at Friday morning's ceremony at the Massachusetts 911 memorial. Staff Photo by Mark Garfinkel

09/11/2015-Boston,MA. Christie Coombs, the wife of Jeffrey Coombs, who died in the September 11 terror attacks, is seen at Friday morning’s ceremony at the Massachusetts 911 memorial. Staff Photo by Mark Garfinkel

09/11/2015-Boston,MA. Marc Sanchez holds a photo of his father Jesus Sanchez, who died in the September 11 terror attacks, as his mother Lynn Greene snaps a photo at Friday morning's ceremony commemorating the14th anniversary of the 2001 terror attacks, at the Massachusetts 911 memorial. Staff Photo by Mark Garfinkel

09/11/2015-Boston,MA. Marc Sanchez holds a photo of his father Jesus Sanchez, who died in the September 11 terror attacks, as his mother Lynn Greene snaps a photo at Friday morning’s ceremony commemorating the14th anniversary of the 2001 terror attacks, at the Massachusetts 911 memorial. Staff Photo by Mark Garfinkel

09/11/2015-Boston,MA. Relatives and friends of the Massachusetts' victims of the September 11 terror attacks, place flowers at the Friday morning's ceremony at the Massachusetts 911 memorial. Staff Photo by Mark Garfinkel

09/11/2015-Boston,MA. Relatives and friends of the Massachusetts’ victims of the September 11 terror attacks, place flowers at the Friday morning’s ceremony at the Massachusetts 911 memorial. Staff Photo by Mark Garfinkel

09/11/2015-Boston,MA. Albeiro Gomez, of Worcester, is presented with the 14th annual Madeline Amy Sweeney Award, named for Sweeney, a flight attendant aboard American Airlines Flight 11 that was hijacked and crashed on September 11, 2001, at a Friday morning ceremony at the State House. Staff Photo by Mark Garfinkel

09/11/2015-Boston,MA. Albeiro Gomez, of Worcester, is presented with the 14th annual Madeline Amy Sweeney Award, named for Sweeney, a flight attendant aboard American Airlines Flight 11 that was hijacked and crashed on September 11, 2001, at a Friday morning ceremony at the State House. Staff Photo by Mark Garfinkel

09/11/2015-Boston,MA. Brian Miller, whose brother Craig J. Miller, a US Secret Service officer and victim of the September 11 attacks, rings a bell at the State House to commemorate each name that is read aloud, of the Massachusetts' victims of the September 11 terror attacks. Staff Photo by Mark Garfinkel

09/11/2015-Boston,MA. Brian Miller, whose brother Craig J. Miller, a US Secret Service officer and victim of the September 11 attacks, rings a bell at the State House to commemorate each name that is read aloud, of the Massachusetts’ victims of the September 11 terror attacks. Staff Photo by Mark Garfinkel

09/11/2015-Boston,MA. Jairo Castro, who lost his mother Gricelda James in the terror attacks of 2001,and his children, from left, Gwendolyn and Gricelda, are seen at Friday morning's State House ceremony where the names of the Massachusetts' victims of the September 11 terror attacks were read aloud.fStaff Photo by Mark Garfinkel

09/11/2015-Boston,MA. Jairo Castro, who lost his mother Gricelda James in the terror attacks of 2001,and his children, from left, Gwendolyn and Gricelda, are seen at Friday morning’s State House ceremony where the names of the Massachusetts’ victims of the September 11 terror attacks were read aloud.fStaff Photo by Mark Garfinkel

Alexander M. Filipov's image was projected, along with the other Massachusetts' victims.

Alexander M. Filipov’s image was projected, along with the other Massachusetts’ victims.

Peter Matthew West's image was projected, along with the other Massachusetts' victims.

Peter Matthew West’s image was projected, along with the other Massachusetts’ victims.

09/11/2015-Boston,MA. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and his wife Lauren are seen at Friday morning's ceremony at the Massachusetts 911 memorial. Staff Photo by Mark Garfinkel

09/11/2015-Boston,MA. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and his wife Lauren are seen at Friday morning’s ceremony at the Massachusetts 911 memorial. Staff Photo by Mark Garfinkel

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Boston commemorates September 11, 13 years on.

From the Public Garden memorial to the State House, to a special honor at Boston’s Engine 33 and Ladder 15

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Remembering the September 11, 2001 Terror Attacks.

I, like many, was watching one of the morning national news shows when the unthinkable events that would change our nation forever commenced. First, one plane, and then another crashed into the World Trade Center towers. I went in to work my Boston Herald news photography shift shortly thereafter. The updated and ever-changing news reports showed one, if not both of the ill-fated airliners, departed from Boston’s Logan airport. I started toward the airport. It would take me over an hour to get from the Herald’s South End headquarters to Logan as most workers vacated the city at the same time. Cell phone service, due to heavy usage, was barely working in our area. I arrived on top of Logan’s Terminal B parking garage to look down at a quiet airport as other media members arrived. We all noticed when an F15 fighter jet roared overhead. It was at about that time that I received word that Peter West, the father of Herald colleague Matthew West, had been working in one of the WTC towers when the planes hit. Cell service was still very spotty and every once in a while, through the day, I would check in with Matthew and another co-worker/friend Matt Stone to find out any information about Mr. West. We all thought that the heavy confusion of the day and the bad cell service, etc. were the reasons we had not received information on the whereabouts of Mr. West. We are a close bunch at the Herald photography department and as the hours passed, we would contact each other  to find any information we could about the West family, so as to not bother them. Peter west, a loving father, husband, brother, uncle and friend, died as he was going about his work on the 104th floor. A loving eulogy by his son Matthew would follow at the New Jersey funeral. Here is a link to the eulogy and to the Peter West memorial website. My photos below show F15 flying over Logan and a state police car guarding an American Airlines plane in the hours after the attacks. They also show one of the first jets to arrive at Logan after the four day closure of the airport. That arriving jet, a DHL cargo jet, is framed by an American flag flying above Winthrop. A few days later there was a very emotional prayer service at City Hall plaza that was attended by many area pilots and flight attendants. God bless to Mr. West and to all the victims of that horrific day. Peace on earth!

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I snapped this photo today, September 11, 2011, showing Boston firefighters from Ladder 17 and Engine 7, standing at attention at the exact moment, ten years later, of the second World Trade tower collapse.

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