Unresolved

This fact, from a 2003 New York Times story, struck me:

To date, 208 of the 343 firefighters killed on Sept. 11 have been positively identified.

135 FDNY had no earthly remains even after two years of digging and sifting. That’s total sacrifice.

The story covered a debate about how to honor rescuers in a 9-11 memorial. Should they be considered equal with the other victims? Should their rescuer status be acknowledged? If so, would that be fair to the civilians who stayed in the flaming towers to help others escape?

I wondered how this was resolved. I’m not sure that it has been:

The almost 3,000 names of the men, women, and children killed in the attacks of September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993 will be inscribed on bronze parapets surrounding the twin Memorial pools.

The display of these names is the very heart of the Memorial. The design of the names parapet provides a direct relationship between the visitor, the names, and the water, allowing for a feeling of quiet reverence between the visitor and the Memorial.

Names will be stencil-cut into the parapets, allowing visitors to look through the names at the water, and to create paper impressions or rubbings of individual names. At night, light will shine up through the voids created by each letter.

The first responders will be grouped together on one section of the south pool.

The hope of the Memorial & Museum that by arranging the names of those who knew each other in their lives next to one another in their deaths, their loved ones will have a deeper and more significant Memorial experience.

Kiosks on the Memorial Plaza will allow all visitors, even those who did not know anyone who perished, to learn about the victims and bring their own meaning to the Memorial by looking up information, such as places of birth, companies, and ages.

It is less than a month until September 11th.

H/T: Steve Sailer