NEWS AMERICAS, BROOKLYN, NY, Fri. Sept. 11, 2020: The official memorial ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum gets underway at 8:30 a.m. this morning at the World Trade Center, but on the 19th anniversary, the names of all victims, including the Caribbean immigrants lost, will not be read but simply played via a recording. The recordings are part of the Museum’s In Memoriam exhibition and will be used to ensure that each victim is recognized and remembered.
Families of 9/11 victims are also being welcomed by the city to the memorial but asked to wear masks and practice social distancing to protect themselves from potential COVID-19 infection. As the recording of their loved one’s names is played, they will be welcome to find the names on the reflecting pools, or sit on one of the many benches at the site. Globally, anyone can watch a live stream here.
Bells will toll at six observed moments of silence, marking the timeline of the attacks: 8:46 a.m., the moment when hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center; 9:02 a.m., when hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 struck the trade center’s South Tower; 9:37 a.m., when hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon; 9:59 a.m., when the South Tower collapsed; 10:02 a.m., when hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania; and 10:29 a.m., when the North Tower collapsed.
Houses of worship across New York City are also being encouraged to toll their bells at 8:46 a.m. to honor the victims of 9/11.
After the ceremony is completed, family members will be welcomed to tour the 9/11 Memorial Museum, which will reopen fully to the public on Sept. 12 after nearly six months of closure due to the pandemic.
“We understand the disappointment that some within the 9/11 community have expressed with this year’s change,” the museum said in a statement. “Protecting the health and safety of everyone at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum is a great responsibility, and so our decision — as difficult as it was to make — is not to put families, who have already gone through so much, potentially at additional risk, while remaining fully committed to enabling all present to hear the names of their loved ones spoken by family members in the serene and sacred setting of the Memorial.”
Shortly after sunset on Sept. 11, the Tribute in Light will return to the New York City skyline. Twin beams of light, created by floodlights placed near the World Trade Center site, will mark the absence of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers.
See all Caribbean immigrant victims of 9/11 in our video tribute here
