The Official 9-11 Memorial Opens Today at the Original WTC Site

The official 911 Memorial opens today.

In August 2006, the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey began heavy construction on the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.  The Memorial is be located at the World Trade Center site on the former location of the Twin Towers destroyed during the September 11 attacks in 2001.

The official Mission statement of the non-profit that built and manages the Memorial is to:

• Remember and honor the thousands of innocent men, women, and children murdered by terrorists in the horrific attacks of February 26, 1993 and September 11, 2001.
• Respect this place made sacred through tragic loss.
• Recognize the endurance of those who survived, the courage of those who risked their lives to save others, and the compassion of all who supported us in our darkest hours.
• May the lives remembered, the deeds recognized, and the spirit reawakened be eternal beacons, which reaffirm respect for life, strengthen our resolve to preserve freedom, and inspire an end to hatred, ignorance and intolerance.

Noteworthy links to other 911 Memorials for those interested in honoring and remembering the day include:

• CNN September 11, A Memorial. CNN.com established a special website as a record of those who died. The site was archived in August 2004.
• Wiki. Memorials and services for the September 11 attacks. The first memorials to the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks began to take shape online, as hundreds of webmasters posted their own thoughts.
• Tear of Grief. To the Struggle Against World Terrorism (also known as the Tear of Grief and the Tear Drop Memorial) is a 10-story-high sculpture by Zurab Tsereteli that was given to the United States as an official gift from the Russian government as a memorial to the victims of the September 11 attacks.
• Tribute In Light. The Tribute in Light is an art installation of 88 searchlights placed next to the site of the World Trade Center to create two vertical columns of light in remembrance of the September 11 attacks. It is produced annually by The Municipal Art Society of New York.
• The Rising. The Rising is a memorial located in the Kensico Dam Plaza of Valhalla, Westchester County, New York, created by architect Frederic Schwartz.