By Bob Ossler and Janice Hall Heck
In memory of those who lost their lives at Ground Zero after the terrorist attacks, and in recognition of the heroes who served there in the search and rescue, search and recovery, clean-up operations, and the volunteers who assisted them, we will post multiple short excerpts from our book, Triumph Over Terror during the month of September.
Missing Persons: Have You Seen Me?
“Walking the short distance to St. Paul’s Chapel, we encountered somber evidence of the huge number of people who died in the World Trade Center collapse.
Missing Persons after 9-11 Photo by Mary Eble. Used by permission in Triumph Over Terror by Ground Zero Chaplain Bob Ossler and Janice Hall Heck
Frantic, grief-stricken loved ones, in confusion and disbelief, plastered photos and flyers for missing persons everywhere around the perimeter of Ground Zero and Lower Manhattan. Fluttering posters covered buildings, lampposts, fences, pillars, and windows.
Signs hung on chain-link fences and blocked existing ads on kiosks and subway walls.
Missing Persons photo on fence at St. Paul’s Chapel. Photo by Mary Eble. From Triumph Over Terror by Ground Zero Chaplain Bob Ossler and Janice Hall Heck
Signs. All sizes, colors, and shapes. Hand-printed and computer-printed flyers. Hand-drawn and crayon-colored pictures by children. Photo collages of missing persons. Pictures of firefighters and police officers and emergency responders. Multi-generational family pictures. Photos of men and women, young and old. Thousands of pictures.
Loved ones…all lost in this vast destruction.”
Excerpt from Triumph Over Terror
