9/11 Living Memorial Workshop Held at Sachem Library

Voices of September 11th sponsored a 9/11 Living Memorial Workshop at the  last week.  Family members and friends of those who perished in the attacks were offered the opportunity to assemble digital memorials of their loved ones at one of many similar workshops held annually in the Tri-State area and beyond by the nonprofit group.

The organization sponsors these one of a kind workshops as an integral part of their initiative.  The 9/11 Living Memorial Project is a web-based archive that honors the nearly 3,000 lives lost and chronicles firsthand accounts of rescue workers and survivors.

The memorial already contains an extensive online collection of over 50,000 images, and will be incorporated in the exhibits at the National September 11th Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center site which will open on Sept. 11, 2012.  It will be located under the Memorial Garden opening this year on the tenth anniversary of this unspeakable tragedy.

Voices of September 11th was co-founded by social worker, Mary Fetchet.  Her son, Brad, was 24 and working on the 89th floor of the WTC's south tower for the company Keefe, Bruyette & Woods as an equity trader when he was killed on that fateful day.

After the plane hit the first building, he left a message for his father to let everyone know he was ok, and that he expected to work the rest of the day.  That recording will be documented in the digital archive.

The other founder was the late Beverly Eckert, a September 11 widow who was one of 50 people killed when Continental Connection Flight 3407 crashed into a house in suburban Buffalo in 2009.  She was on her way to Buffalo, her hometown, to attend a memorial for what would have been the 58th birthday of her husband, Sean Rooney.

Just a week prior to the crash, the tireless advocate had joined other relatives of victims of 9/11 in a meeting with President Obama to discuss changes in the procedural process of dealing with suspected terrorists.

Fetchet explained the heart of what Voices of September 11th strives to achieve.  "We feel it's critical that families are the ones conveying to future generations the life that was lost.  Focusing on the life not the death," she said.

The founding director is in a unique position to aid those most deeply impacted by the attacks since she has not only lost a son to the horrific event, but is also a trained mental health professional.

"Sometimes people have a need for information," Fetchet said. "We conduct assessments and make referrals to community based service providers such as grief counseling.  Ten years later we're seeing people for the first time."

The 9/11 Living Memorial digital archive was launched in September 2006 in honor of the thousands of individuals who lost their lives when terrorists hijacked four planes that crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, PA.  It is also for the families, friends and colleagues who were devastated by the loss of a loved one; as well as for our nation and the world.

Voices of September 11th is asking everyone with memories of that day to share their experience and contribute their story.

The 9/11 Living Memorial is an interactive, web-based archive that preserves victims' and survivors' lives through stories, photos, keepsakes and more, while acknowledging the boundless generosity and strength of spirit of the 9/11 community; whose members have initiated foundations, scholarships and memorials as signs of reverence for the past and hope for the future.

"It was a defining moment in the history of our country, and our world was changed as a result of 9/11," said Fetchet. "To tell these important stories is really going to inform future generations.  It's going to tell the story to their children and their children's children."

The Living Memorial will be available through institutions such as the Library of Congress, and of course on the website which has close to 1,000 stories captured there.  The site currently has 11,000 members and received 10 million hits last year.

"We still play an important role in keeping 9/11 families and the community informed," said Fetchet. "We also provide support and referrals.  We rely on them to guide us as to what their needs are.  The real healing comes in being part of the community for so many families ... We have this unspoken bond."

There are several ways to participate in the digital archive: Schedule an appointment to attend a workshop such as the one recently held at the library (it will be back there again in March).  Those interested can also visit the office in New Canaan, CT or submit items directly, either digitally or via the mail.  All pictures and belongings will be scanned and returned immediately.

Some begin with a handful of photographs and continue to make additions over time such as Joann DeTommaso.  She came to Tuesday's workshop holding an envelope stuffed with pictures of her brother's smile which she said, "lit up like a Christmas tree."   The Smithtown resident was there to help complete the life story of Bobby King, Jr. of Engine 33 in Bellerose. He was a rescue worker and one of 10 men from his firehouse that died heroically on 9/11.  He grew up in Hauppauge.

"September 11th, it doesn't stop.  It's kind of bittersweet.  You don't want to not participate in everything; it's part of history.  It's hard eulogizing someone over and over.  You just cry," said DeTommaso. "This is great.  This is always going to be on the computer.  This is a living memory.  Their memory will go on and on and on."