Twentieth Anniversary of 9/11

This past September 11^th marked the 20^th anniversary of the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. Originally, it wasn’t my intent to do anything regarding its observance. But, while watching the many historic newscasts of the day being broadcast, something stirred within me to write something for this blog.

A Snapshot in Time – 2001

Back in 2001, I used to then write and print an yearly essay about the times in which we were living for Treasure Gems. Treasure Gems was published annually by the Amalgamated Printers Association. II printed all my submissions to Treasure Gems via the letterpress process. I used typeset on a Linotype and printed in my cellar on my 10 x 15 Golding. The essays chronicled the various news events of the day, touched upon politics and which party was in control. They centered around major sporting events. Events such as the Baseball All Star game, the Super Bowl, Final Four, etc. were used. I always ended the essays with three unknown questions of the day. Later essays gave answers to these questions as they became available.

My intent of these essays at the time was to be overt in recording small samplings of historic events. I want people to remember these events years from now. The series of essays was kind of like a blog, but done annually and not monthly/bi-monthly like this blog. I wasn’t sure whether or not I should reprint the text here. I finally decided that it would help to set the mood of the country back then. The following is what I wrote back in 2001 eleven days after the twin towers came down and major league sports returned to New York City.

A Snapshot in Time

“It is 7:36 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on September 21, 2001. New York Mets’ pitcher, Bruce Chen, throws the first pitch. A ball, high and outside to the Atlanta Braves’ second baseman, Marcus Giles. The Friday night baseball game has started at Shea Stadium.

“With thousands of flags waving, firemen and policemen marching, and a heart-wrenching rendition of the Star Spangled Banner led by Diana Ross, major league sports have returned to New York City. It has been eleven days since professional athletes have competed here.

“On Tuesday morning, the eleventh of September, four jet-engine airplanes were hijacked by armed terrorists believed to be from the al-Qaida network headed by Osama bin Laden. Two of the hijacked airplanes were steered directly into the two towers of New York’s World Trade Center. Eighty-six minutes after the second plane crashed, there was only a huge pile of rubble where the once mighty structure stood. The third plane hijacked was steered into the west side of the Pentagon building in Washington D.C., while the fourth plane hijacked was apparently forced down by heroic passengers of the ill-fated flight after learning of earlier attacks on the World Trade Center.

“The Baltimore Ravens won Super Bowl XXXV with a dominant defensive performance. It was their first championship since they moved to Baltimore from Cleveland. Scheduled rolling ‘black outs’ have stopped in California for now. The political makeup of the Senate has changed. Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords changed his political affiliation. He became an independent. The Democrat Party then became the majority party in the Senate.

That Day

“News stories of the day include hundreds of stories about the terrorists attacks, President Bush’s addressing of the nation last night to declare a global war on terrorism, the Dow Jones’ industrial average’s having lost a record 1200 points since it reopened on Monday, the United States military’s increasing its presence in the Persian Gulf, peace activists rallying at more than one hundred college campuses.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge’s then was being named to head the newly-formed Office of Homeland Security, increased security measures having been initiated worldwide, a $15,000,000,000 airline industry emergency bailout package’s having been approved by Congress, ethnic Albanians from the National Liberation Army’s beginning final arms collections in Macedonia, Barry Bond’s hitting of home run number sixty-four in his chase of Mark McGuire’s record of seventy home runs in a single season, and the Russian Parliament’s authorization of citizen land ownership for the first time in over eighty years.

“The unknown questions of the day include:

1. “Who orchestrated the attacks against America?
2. “Why did they attack?
3. “Will it happen again?”

A vow to never forget

Back in 2001, an overwhelming majority of the country vowed to “Never Forget” the tragic events surrounding the 9/11 attacks. Now, here we are some twenty short years later, and I guess the events of these past few years with the pandemic wreaking its havoc such as has, have overshadowed these 9/11 tragedies?

What I have gleaned in retrospect

The most important thing that I have gleaned from re-reading my essay and watching the news events immediately following the attacks, is how united the country was then. The second most important thing was that I apparently forgot was how truly horribly I felt after the attacks. We lost so many lives in these senseless killings. Also noted was the partisan politics during and immediately following the 2000 elections were all but gone. The country united against a common enemy, and together, we decided we need to defeat the enemy.

After the attacks

For many months and years after the 9/11 attacks people and businesses held remembrances and memorials for those who perished. The rose industry was one of these industries that did their part as well to “Never Forget” those who perished. The people that we lost that day were our mothers – fathers – sisters – brothers – sons – daughters – husbands –  wives – companions and soulmates in life. In the years that followed the 9/11 attacks, many roses were then introduced as part of these remembrances/memorials. Some of the most highly-regarded hybridizers in the industry participated in the project. Among the roses introduced include:

Firefighter

Firefighter is a dark red Hybrid Tea hybridized by Joseph Orad and introduced by Edmunds’ Roses. It is one of the most fragrant Hybrid Tea roses ever introduced, and then received the James Alexander Gamble Rose Fragrance Award. Firefighter is named in memory of the 343 firefighters who went into the burning towers to help people get to safety after the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were hit by hijacked planes. There were members of 75 different firehouses from New York City that were killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center. These brave men helped to save countless lives during the collapse of the Twin Towers (there were no women firefighters who died, but there were three women first responders who did).

Forty Heroes and The 9/11 Flight 93 Rose

Forty Heroes is a Deep Yellow Floribunda hybridized by Ping Lim and introduced by Bailey Nurseries.
The 9/11 Flight 93 Rose is a dark red Hybrid Tea hybridized by Benjamin Williams.

Both Forty Heroes and The 9/11 Flight 93 Rose are named in memory of the forty innocent victims of United Airlines Flight 93. United Airlines Flight 93 was the only plane hijacked on September 11, 2001 where passengers fought back against their hijackers after discovering that other planes had been hijacked by suicide pilots that hit both towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Flight 93 then crashed at 10:03 a.m. September 11, 2001 in a remote field in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania with the forty brave passengers and crew aboard. The intended target for United Airlines Flight 93 was believed to be the U.S. Capitol Building. It was the only hijacked plane on September 11, 2001 that did not hit its intended target. The heroic measures of the members of the forty crew members and passengers who fought back no doubt saved countless lives in and around the Capitol building.

Nicole Carol Miller

Nicole Carol Miller is a mauve Grandiflora hybridized by the House of Meilland and introduced by Star Roses. She (the person) was then a 21 year old passenger on United Airlines Flight 93. She was a senior at West Valley College in Saratoga California. And Unfortunately she was returning to California on the ill-fated flight after vacationing on the East Coast. Her original flight was supposed to be on September 10, 2001, but was changed to Flight 93 the following day. Flight 93 was hijacked and crashed at 10:03 a.m. September 11, 2001 in a remote field in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania with Nicole aboard. There were no survivors of the crash.

Patriot Dream

Patriot Dream is an orange pink Shrub rose hybridized by Ping Lim and introduced by Bailey Nurseries. It was named in memory of the crew and passengers of American Airlines Flight 77. Flight 77 was hijacked and deliberately flown into the western side of the Pentagon building in Arlington County Virginia at 9:37 a.m. September 11, 2001. All 59 passengers and crew members were killed during this attack. An additional 125 men and women who were in the Pentagon building at the time of the attack were killed as well. The western side of the Pentagon was under renovation at the time of the attack, and if fully staffed at the time, there would no doubt be hundreds of more people who would have died.

Quietness

Quietness is a light pink Shrub rose hybridized by Griffith Buck and was introduced by Roses Unlimited twelve years after his death. It was an untested seedling that was given to Roses Unlimited to test for possible introduction after Buck’s death. The seedling bloomed on September 12, 2001 in Pat Henry’s garden (one of the owners of Roses Unlimited). It was a very quiet day with much of the world then stopped (including all air travel). Pat’s spirit was quite somber and quiet due to the events of previous day. After discovering that the rose that was blooming was a seedling, she wanted to name the seedling Quietness in memory of the people who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 and in memory of Griffith Buck (who was a quiet man as well). Dr. Buck’s family agreed, and the rose was named and introduced as Quietness.

September Mourn

September Mourn is a white Floribunda bred by Alain Meilland and introduced by Conrad Pyle. It was named in memory of the 2,977 victims of the four hijacked airlines on September 11, 2001, the airplane attack on the  Pentagon, and attacks on the twin towers the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. September Mourn is the “perfect” name for the tragic events of September 11, 2001. No other name could capture the events better than this. Here we are some 20 years after the attacks, and we are still mourning the events of that fateful September Tuesday morning. A play on words – yes. But, a highly effective homonym for the events of the day.

Soaring Spirits

Soaring Spirits is a pink and white striped Large-Flowered Climber bred by Tom Carruth and introduced by Weeks Roses. It is named for the people who died in the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center that came down at 9:59 a.m. (North Tower), and 10:28 a.m. (South Tower) on September 11, 2001. Some people died the instant that the planes crashed into the buildings, while others died days after the attacks when rescue efforts were not successful in getting them released from their prisons in the wreckage of the twin towers.

Survivor’s Rose

Survivor’s Rose is a pink Shrub rose bred by Ping Lim and introduced by Bailey Nurseries. It was named in honour of the victims who survived the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Many thousands of victims who survived the attacks were wounded both psychologically and physically during these attacks. These surviving victims have to live with the knowledge of how close they came dyeing and being included in the count of 2,977 victims of the attacks. Many of these survivors saw (and heard) the hundreds of other people who died in these attacks.

The Finest

The Finest is a white Hybrid Tea that was bred by Ping Lim and introduced by Bailey Nurseries. It was named in memory of the 23 New York City Police officers who gave the ultimate sacrifice of giving their lives in the line of duty protecting other people in need during the attacks of September 11, 2001.

We Salute You

We Salute You is an Orange-Pink Hybrid Tea bred by Tom Carruth and introduced by Weeks Roses. It is named in memory of the 125 Pentagon employees and civilians who lost their lives in  the Pentagon building after the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 was deliberately flown into the western side of the building at 9:37 a.m. September 11, 2001. 55 military personnel and 70 civilians who were in the Pentagon at the time were killed. An additional 59 men, women, and children who were travelling in American Airlines Flight 77 lost their lives as well. The western side of the Pentagon was under renovation at the time of the attack. If the Pentagon was not under construction at the time, then there would no doubt be hundreds of more people who would have lost their lives as well.

Wings of Courage

Wings of Courage is named in memory of the 87 crew and passengers of American Airlines Flight 11. Flight 11 was the first hijacked plane to hit the World Trade Center. It hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001. There were no survivors from the crash. The crash was ultimately then responsible for killing some 1,402 people who were in the North Tower at the time Flight 11 hit the building.

In retrospect

No words that can be found to adequately express one’s feelings on how the events of September 11, 2001 has affected them. We can try, and I have tried here to adequately express my feelings here as well. But, there is always something lacking in these words. That something that is missing that no one one person can ever capture. Something that adequately expresses how we feel after 2,977  innocent souls were taken from us the way that they were. It is forever illusive in our quest to understand why.

The people that we lost – with futures and families and sons and daughters and mothers and fathers, were denied their futures. They were denied their futures because someone else had other ideas that were contradictory to theirs.

The roses introduced to remember/memorialize the victims of the tragic events of September 11, 2001 aimed to help fill these voids. These roses cannot even begin to complete the lost 2,977 souls taken that day. Souls never to be part of our lives ever again.

While researching this blog, some of the roses listed above seem to be available at many nurseries, while some have almost no information available on them. The project seems incomplete to me. There are also a lot of broken links and closed down websites associated with these memorial roses. However, there does seem to be a new project that has emerged. There are Remember Me Rose Gardens that have been built and renovated during the 20th anniversary of the attacks, but that story is for another time/blog.

Epilogue

I wrote this blog with a couple of different fountain pens at various times through the month of September. I used my Moore marbled fountain pen from the 1930’s to write the start of the blog. But, since this blog is as long as it is (some 2737 words), I also used my Waltham pen from the 1930’s and my Osmiroid pen from the 1960’s as well. I made corrections with a new addition to my fountain pen collection. I just finished fixing this pen a couple of days ago. I’m still trying to identify this new addition, but I can say that it writes smooth as silk.

A Snapshot Revisited

Osama bin Laden is blamed for orchestrating the attacks on September 11, 2001. The attacks were done in retaliation of the United States’ support of Israel in the Persian Gulf War. bin Laden was killed on May 2, 2011 and is burred at sea.

Soon after the attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States went to war on Terrorism. Much of this war centered in Afghanistan and the ousted Taliban regime. This war continued for twenty years, and before he left office, Former President Trump negotiated the end of the war/troop withdrawal in Afghanistan with the Taliban. On August 30, 2021 (just eleven days before the 20th anniversary of 9/11) the United States military under President Joe Biden‘s leadership completed its withdrawal of troops stationed there. The Taliban has regained control of Afghanistan just as it had before the 9/11 attacks.

The United States has not been attacked on its own soil since September 11, 2001. Let’s hope that it never will be again.