Press

"The World Trade Center: Rescue Recovery Response," the nation's first permanent museum exhibition of artifacts documenting the September 11th attack at the World Trade Center (WTC), opens at the New York State Museum on Thursday, September 5.

The exhibition is located in the new 4,500-square foot gallery in the museum's New York Metropolis Hall. Its centerpiece is the heavily damaged Engine 6 pumper, one of the first fire trucks to respond to the scene, as well as video and many other objects and images chronicling this tragic chapter in the nation's history. The exhibition tells the story of the World Trade Center, the rescue efforts after the attacks, the recovery operation at the Fresh Kills landfill and the public response in media, memorials and oral histories.

"With the permission of the brothers of Engine 6 and their families, and with the help of so many people and agencies, the state museum is honored to be entrusted with the fire truck that was among the first on the scene on September 11," said State Education Department Commissioner Richard Mills. "Engine 6 is an old and famous company. Their finest hour began a little after 9 a.m. on the morning of Sept 11. This particular fire apparatus has a story all its own. Five firefighters went in. All but one were lost.

"When a fire engine stands ready for action, firefighters say it is, 'in service.' Engine 6 will be in service here. The service it will render from now on will be to teach the values of those who manned it. People will bring their children to see this emblem of valor and sacrifice."

"Shortly after September 11th we began to lay the groundwork for one of the most challenging projects the museum has ever undertaken," said State Museum Director Cliff Siegfried. "We began the process of identifying, collecting and preserving artifacts that would speak to future generations about the nation's worst terrorist attack. This would not have been possible without the leadership of Governor Pataki and Commissioner Mills, and the assistance of city, state and national agencies and the support of police and fire personnel and families of the victims."

Opening in September is the first of a two-phase exhibition -- "Rescue: The First 24 Hours." It documents the first 24 hours after the attacks began on September 11, 2001. In addition to the fire department objects, there are several others from New York City's police department, as well as a 9-ton, 19-foot high beam from one of the WTC towers recovered from the WTC site.

As visitors enter the WTC gallery, they will see a 4 x 6-foot American flag recovered by state police from Ground Zero. There is a history of the World Trade Center with photos of architectural sketches, a video of the construction and a floor-to-ceiling beam from one of the towers. The beam, which visitors can touch, provides a sense of the scale and size of the buildings, which rose more than 1360 feet and encompassed 110 floors.

One section of the exhibition focuses on the American flag -- its history, significance and the new meaning it has taken on since September 11th. The focal point is an American flag that was recovered from the WTC debris and then flew at the Fresh Kills recovery operation site.

A 20 x 48-foot photo mural showing the WTC destruction provides the backdrop for he Engine 6 pumper and a display on the fire company that lost four of its members who rode on the rig that day. This will include the history of the prominent Manhattan fire company, which was organized in 1756 and was later known as the Engine 6 "Tigers." The company's quarters are near the World Trade Center site and, because of this, the Engine 6 pumper had a specially built pump that was powerful enough to push water to the top of the towers. It was partially crushed in the collapse of the North Tower.

There also is a panel that is a tribute to the four firefighters who died. Five of the six firefighters that rode on the pumper entered the North Tower, while the driver, Jack Butler, stayed with the truck. Butler ran from the truck as the building started to collapse and firefighter Billy Green was able to flee from the tower when ordered to do so. Unable to escape before the collapse were: Lt. Thomas O'Hagan, 43, of the Bronx; Paul Beyer, 37, of Staten Island; William "Billy" Johnston, 31, of Long Island and Thomas Holohan, 36, of Orange County.

O'Hagan, married and the doting father of two young twin boys, fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming a fireman when he was 23 and was promoted to lieutenant in October 2000. Beyer, also married, was the loving father of two teenage boys and a skilled machinist who was in the process of building a new home. Johnston was known as an outstanding athlete who loved to play practical jokes on his friends and co-workers. Holohan, married and the father of three small children, was a former bank auditor who followed in the footsteps of his grandfather and uncle when he became a firefighter in 1995 and, most recently, was studying to become a lieutenant.

In front of the fire pumper is a timeline of the first 24 hours of the WTC attack. The timeline begins as a beautiful day dawns in Manhattan at 6:30 a.m. on September 11, 2001. It then shifts to 8:46 a.m., the time the first plane hit, and documents each of the significant events that followed. In front of this there are various artifacts recovered from the site including a backboard and other items used by firefighters, police and emergency rescue personnel.

The second phase of the exhibition, opening in December, will feature two gallery sections -- "Recovery," the story of the massive operation at the Fresh Kills landfill, and "Response," showcasing memorial material in the museum's collection.

The Recovery section will document the operation at Fresh Kills that began on September 12th when the first WTC remains arrived. A team of medical examiners, police, FBI agents, city sanitation staff, army personnel and disaster relief contractors created a "city on the hill." By July 26th they had sifted through more than 1.8 million tons of material and inspected more than 2,000 cars, trucks and rescue vehicles with the mission to find human remains, personal effects and criminal evidence. They recovered more than 50,000 personal objects and 4,000 human remains that led to the identification of hundreds of victims.

The Response section of the exhibition will include many of the memorial objects which family, friends and countless other concerned Americans posted within a week of the WTC attack. Informal memorials appeared across the city, state and nation as a sign of unprecedented
support, including banners, art, signs, posters, shirts, flowers and messages. There will be a rotating display of these materials, which the museum has collected as part of the process of documenting the attack and its impact.

A traveling exhibition, "Recovery: Ingenuity and Reverence at Fresh Kills," will open at the New-York Historical Society in 2003 and then go on an extensive tour. It will include photographs of the Fresh Kills' operation and many objects from the site.

The New York State Museum, a cultural program of the New York State Department of Education, was founded on a tradition of scientific inquiry. Started in 1836, the museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. The state museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.