September 11, 2001 headlines filled a wall at the 9/11 memorial in the Newseum. Photo by Katie Fellows
It was a crisp September day as I settled in for school at Browning Elementary in South Lancaster, Massachusetts, but it wasn’t long until my fourth grade teacher came scurrying into the room looking visibly distressed. Being only in the fourth grade, she didn’t share with us as to why she was upset. But I knew something was wrong.
It wasn’t until they released us early from school and I returned home that I saw what had happened on the morning of September 11, 2001. And while I didn’t fully understand what happened, even at 10-years-old, I felt the impact of that day.
In 2018, while attending the Society of Adventist Communicators at the North American Division headquarters, I had the opportunity to visit the Newseum, an interactive journalism and communication museum in downtown Washington D.C. Among the historic news pieces was a 9/11 memorial.
What follows is a visual reflection of my time spent at that memorial.
I remember soberly reading the numerous headlines filled with rage and devastation from across the world, seeing the remains of journalist Bill Biggart’s equipment, and looking up at the remains of the 360-foot television and radio antenna, which once stood on top of the North Tower.
Some, like me, took time to quietly reflect on what they had been doing on that devastating day. The chattering of students on a field trip disrupted the quiet as they passed through, looking aimlessly up at the antenna and wall of news headlines. And I remember thinking they were too young to have experienced that day.
Even today I remember the horrifying footage and photos that resulted from that day. Reading through those headlines and descriptions of the items that were found, I can’t help but feel the loss of the estimated 3,000 people who lost their lives in these attacks.
Life often never goes as planned. No one could have predicted what would happen that day, and yet it did. But it is heartening to remember that through trial, devastation and chaos, we are never alone. God is always with us.
Katie Fellows, Lake Union Communication Assistant
