Fort Drum 9/11 Exhibition Opens

"New York Remembers" Exhibit Will Give Fort Drum Soldiers and Families a Place to Honor Victims

Governor Andrew Cuomo, the New York State Museum, and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum today announced the opening of a "New York Remembers" exhibition at the Fort Drum U.S. Army base in Jefferson County.

The exhibition will give Fort Drum soldiers and their families a place to remember the victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, to honor the countless heroes who helped with the clean-up and recovery efforts, and to pay tribute to members of the military who are fighting for our freedom.

The exhibition features several historical artifacts from the collections of the State Museum and National September 11 Memorial & Museum. The stories behind the artifacts are told as part of the exhibition.

"These artifacts will provide a gathering place for the Fort Drum community to remember the tragic events of September 11th. The men and women of our nation's armed services have paid a tremendous price protecting America and keeping our country safe in the aftermath of those senseless acts of terrorism," said Governor Cuomo.

"Fort Drum deployed forces as part of the nation's military response to the 9/11 attacks and they were some of the first conventional troops on the ground in Afghanistan. This exhibit will serve as a constant reminder of the unbreakable spirit of unity that brought our state and nation together after September 11th."

Joe Daniels, President of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, stated, "This exhibit will help soldiers and families of the Fort Drum community reflect and honor the women, men and children lost in the attacks of September 11, and it represents our gratitude for their admirable service. I want to thank the Governor for his dedication to preserving the history of 9/11, the primary goal of the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum."

Mark Schaming, Director of the New York State Museum, added, "The New York State Museum is glad to continue our partnership with Governor Cuomo to help all New Yorkers commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9/11. The Fort Drum U.S. Army base may be on the opposite end of the state from Ground Zero, but the lives of the members of the Fort Drum community were forever altered by the attacks. Fort Drum soldiers work to protect our state and nation every day and I hope this exhibit will serve as a source of strength and reflection."

"After 10 years of war that began with the attacks on September 11, 2001, I believe it is safe to say we here at Fort Drum will never forget the atrocities of that day. This exhibit loaned to us by the State of New York, however, will provide us a valued place to reflect on the losses of that terrible day, and the innumerable sacrifices made by our Soldiers, Families and Civilians since then," concluded Colonel Noel T. Nicolle, Fort Drum Garrison Commander.

In August, Governor Cuomo, the New York State Museum, and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum announced the creation of thirty "New York Remembers" exhibitions as part of a statewide recognition of the tenth anniversary of September 11th. Fort Drum's exhibition is located in Clark Hall, a common area for visiting family members to spend time with their relatives, and at the Directorate of Emergency Services Building.

Items from the exhibition, which are located in Clark Hall Building 10720 and in Directorate of Emergency Services Building 10715, include:

Fire Hose Connector (Directorate of Emergency Services Building 10715)
Much of the FDNY's equipment was destroyed in the collapse of the World Trade Center. Three hundred and forty-three members of the FDNY were killed on September 11th, the largest number of New York firefighters ever lost on a single day.

Marriott Access Card (Directorate of Emergency Services Building 10715)
The New York Marriott World Trade Center was located between and connected to the Twin Towers. It collapsed after a portion of the South Tower fell on it.

Bolt (Directorate of Emergency Services Building 10715)
A bolt from the World Trade Center's steel frame.

Revolver (Directorate of Emergency Services Building 10715)
Numerous government offices in World Trade Center Building 6 lost valuable criminal evidence and paperwork. Approximately 200 - 400 guns, which were held as evidence and ranged from small-caliber semiautomatic pistols to assault rifles, as well as other evidence in pending criminal cases and confidential government documents, were recovered at Ground Zero or the Fresh Kills landfill.

Airplane Piece (Clark Hall Building 10720)
Landing Gear: Fragment of an airplane from either UA Flight 175 or AA Flight 11. As potential criminal evidence, the piece is marked with an FBI case number and the signature of Special Agent Richard Marx.

About the New York State Museum

With more than 2,000 artifacts, the New York State Museum is the nation's largest repository of objects recovered from the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. Within weeks of the attacks, State Museum staff documented the operations at the WTC site and later spent countless hours at the WTC Recovery Operation at Fresh Kills, where all the material was inspected. In the ten months that followed the attacks, the FBI and NYPD recovered over 50,000 pieces of personal property. The Museum also documented the Fresh Kills operation with hundreds of photographs, interviews, and films.

The FBI and NYPD transferred all artifacts to the Museum after they were designated non-essential to the crime scene as neither criminal evidence nor personal property. Items include rescue artifacts, building pieces, everyday artifacts, and other objects from the site. No object collected from Fresh Kills by the State Museum was kept if it could be identified as owned by an individual.

Vehicles like an FDNY truck were signed over to the State Museum by the FDNY via a deed of gift by the specific agency. Forty-nine pieces of the two airplanes that crashed into the towers were transferred to the State Museum by the FBI. These include fuselage, interior, and engine parts.

The State Museum also has a significant collection of sympathy material from the New York City area, New York State, and across the world.

About the National September 11 Memorial and Museum

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum is the not-for-profit corporation created to oversee the design, fundraising, programming, and operations of the Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center. The Memorial & Museum will be located on eight of the sixteen acres of the World Trade Center site.

The Memorial was dedicated on the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and was opened to the public the following day, and the Museum will open in September 2012.

The Memorial honors the thousands of people who were killed in the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993. The design, created by Michael Arad and Peter Walker, consists of two reflecting pools formed in the footprints of the original Twin Towers and a plaza of trees.

The Museum will display monumental artifacts linked to the events of 9/11, while presenting intimate stories of loss, compassion, reckoning, and recovery that are central to telling the story of the 2001 and 1993 attacks and the aftermath.

It will communicate key messages that embrace both the specificity and the universal implications of the events of 9/11; document the impact of those events on individual lives, as well as on local, national, and international communities; and explore the continuing significance of these events for our global community.