My Visit to the 9/11 Memorial in the Boston Public Garden

It is not unusual for me to walk in the Boston Public Garden during my lunch hour. Normally, I walk either around the perimeter of the park or around the duck pond.

Today, however, I visited the small 9/11 memorial Garden of Remembrance located at the foot of the park. The memorial is in honor of the 206 people from Massachusetts who died on September 11, 2001. Most perished aboard American Airlines Flight 11 or United Airlines Flight 175 both of which departed Boston's Logan International Airport that morning and crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Others perished on the ground at the World Trade Center whether as civilians or as members of the FDNY or the Port Authority of New Jersey & New York.

There was a small crowd gathered around the memorial. Fortunately, unlike last year, there was no anti-Bush outburst. This year I saw only quiet reflection accompanied by flowers, notes and photographs of the deceased leaning up against the memorial.

While most of the carnage took place in New York City part of the journey which led to the carnage began in Boston. The attacks of September 11, 2001 were also an assault upon people living here. This is, unfortunately, one of the many things that has been forgotten about September 11, 2001 in the intervening eight years.