On a nice summer day in Indianapolis, Sheri Humphries and her boyfriend, Travis Pearson find themselves enjoying what many couples do on such an afternoon, walking along the downtown canal.
However, their romantic bliss turns into thoughtful reflection as they walk up to the 9/11 Memorial on Ohio Street.
In deep thought, they read the powerful words at the top of a cracked marble wall, “Sept. 11, 2001. We will never forget.”
Humphries and Pearson then read a summary of the attack, which killed nearly 3,000 people in coordinated tragedies at the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and in a field in Shanksville, Pa., where a plane hijacked by terrorists crashed.
“It makes you sad and disappointed that human beings can do something like this to each other, and that it can happen again,” Humphries said.
Behind Humphries and Pearson at the memorial were two large steel beams that were used in one of the world trade towers, and now stand as a tribute to those who lost their lives and put themselves at risk to save others.
After looking up at the steel beams, Pearson shakes his head in disbelief.
“We will probably never know what really happened that day or how the whole thing actually got set up,” he said.
As the United States prepares to observe the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks next week, experts note that the incident changed how many Americans view their security and standing in the world. It continues to have a significant physiological impact on many people.
In a leading study conducted by the University of Michigan and published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, researchers confirmed that the 9/11 attacks had a major impact on the psychological processes of people not directly exposed to the event.
“Studies have shown that the 9/11 attacks resulted in a wave of stress and anxiety across the United States,” said University of Michigan professor Ivy Tso.
She added that studies revealed that anxiety over national security and typical activities such as using airlines increased significantly, with symptoms in some people that are similar to patients with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Such symptoms include hypervigilence, depression and suppression of unwanted thoughts.
“Only 8 to 10 percent of residents in New York, where attacks actually occurred, reported these symptoms, but 40 percent of Americans across the country reported experiencing symptoms of stress related to the attacks,” Tso said.
Another study conducted by Stony Brook University suggested that Americans responded to the attack with both negative reactions, such as increased prejudice, as well as positive reactions, including increased charitable donations and civic engagement.
To cope with general anxiety, Tso and other experts recommend incorporating such measures as relaxation exercises, challenging negative thoughts, staying involved with fulfilling activities and surrounding oneself with positive people.
Although Humphries was only in second grade when the 9/11 attacks occurred, they still have a profound impact on her.
“I remember being in class that morning, the teachers telling us what was happening and everybody crying,” she said. “I’ll never forget that. The amount of time that passes doesn’t matter, it still happened.”
Troy Greene, an employee at the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Hospital in Indianapolis, also remembers exactly what he was doing on 9/11. He says the attacks changed his view on America’s vulnerability.
“I was at work having lunch and couldn’t believe what I was seeing (on television),” Greene said as he cleaned windows in the lobby. “There’s a lot to homeland security that many of us didn’t know. However, we learned more about it after that day.”
Although he acknowledges that another terrorist attack is always possible, he is hopeful the chances of it occurring can be reduced if the U.S. government makes non-violent negotiation a priority in its foreign policy.
“If we want to prevent these attacks, then the best way to do it is to be friendly to our brothers and sisters around the world,” he said. “We have to win their hearts.”
Indy’s Memorial Service
Project 9/11 will host its annual memorial event on Sept. 11 from noon to 12:30 p.m. at the 9/11 Memorial, located at 421 W. Ohio St.
Mayor Greg Ballard is expected to be in attendance, and the keynote speaker will be 9/11 survivor Don Basco of Dyer, Ind., who was in the World Trade Center’s North Tower when the first plane struck.
The event will include a wreath laying ceremony, a patriotic concert and a donation luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Project 9/11 was formed by firefighter and paramedic, Greg Hess. He was a member of Indiana Task Force 1, one of the first FEMA Search and Rescue teams sent to New York following the 9/11 terrorist attack.
Push on not to charge admission at 9/11 Museum
New York- CBS New York -There is a grassroots effort under way to make sure there is no admission fee at the 9/11 museum.
Back in May, it was announced that there would be an admission fee in the range of $20 to $25.
But there are now more than 4,000 signatures on a petition to nix that plan, Peter Haskell of WCBS reported.
“It should not be a matter of whether you can pay a fee or not. They should be able to walk around that memorial and they should be able to walk through that museum,” said Laura Timoney, who launched the petition on change.org.
Her husband is a retired city policeman who served for over 20 years and lost many of his colleagues on Sept. 11, 2001.
“It just doesn’t sit right. This is a national memorial,” she told Haskell. “This shouldn’t be a tourist attraction. This should be a place of reverence where you can really pay your respects to the folks that perished that day.”
Under the plan, the 9/11 Memorial would remain free.
Museum officials have declined to comment on the petition.
NY police set to spend $40M on security at World Trade Center
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Security over style – that’s the argument New York Police Department officials are making as they plan to install barricades and barriers in the area surrounding One World Trade Center.
What’s being lost, critics said, is a chance to restore a vibrant streetscape. They said the mistakes made 50 years ago that left the Twin Towers isolated from the city’s streets are being repeated.
The NYPD and other officials say security concerns must be addressed and their plan will make these streets more pedestrian and bike friendly. The department’s post-construction security plan, which will cost an estimated $40 million, calls for multiple streets closed to most through traffic, just four entry checkpoints and five exit points over the entire 16-acre site.
Police will man security booths. Road barriers will go up, similar to those near the New York Stock Exchange and concrete bollards will be everywhere.
“The reason for that is we want to keep a car bomb off the site,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner Richard Daddario said.
Daddario laid out the plans for CBS 2’s Derricke Dennis, calling them necessary, safer, and, most importantly, pedestrian friendly.
“It will not be a fortress-like environment. It will be a very open environment,” Daddario said.
But that’s exactly what many who live and own businesses around the World Trade Center said they fear – a frozen security fortress, turning tourists, residents, and money away, in the face of barricades and roadblocks.
The idea of 11-foot-high guard posts and pop-up barricades of the type you see around the stock exchange and One Police Plaza generated some anger in the neighborhood.
“It’s ugly and we understand it will not look like that here,” Cathy Hughes said.
Hughes chairs the area community board and said though the plans have not been finalized, she’s been promised an open World Trade Center feel.
“We are all looking forward to the security fences going down, being able to walk again around the World Trade Center site,” Hughes said.
Others welcomed the security.
“I think it should be more secure. Coming from Oklahoma City, I think it should be more security,” tourist Cathy Wedman said.
“We’re gonna have to walk for freedom, but we need the security,” added Yvette Pinto of East New York.
Greenwich and Fulton streets would again crisscross the World Trade Center site, but the plan is to close those streets to everyday traffic.
