9/11 Memorial & Museum announces new exhibit focused on "9/11-inspired service"
The 9/11 Memorial & Museum announced Monday it will educate visitors in new ways about the day of the terror attacks and the people who were inspired to give back over the last 25 years.
It announced an exhibit that will open on Sept. 12, entitled "In Their Honor: 25 Years of 9/11-Inspired Service."
CBS News New York got a sneak preview of the space, which includes an area that tells the stories of children of 9/11 first responders who were inspired to pursue careers in their parents' footsteps. One of the stories shared is that of Caitlyn McIntyre, who was 5 years old when her father, Port Authority Police Officer Donald James McIntyre, died on Sept. 11, 2001, while trying to rescue victims trapped in the World Trade Center.
She became a nurse, and stepped up to care for children in the hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. The exhibit says she called it "quiet acts of service" and wore her father's badge number on her wrist.
"I think it's really important to remember those who decided to have a call to action after 9/11," said Logan Miller, a 9/11 family member and member of the Museum's Visionary Network Council which, according to the museum's website, "brings people between the ages of 21 and 45 together through acts of advocacy, commemoration, and engagement to deepen their connection to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and ensure that their generation and future generations remember 9/11 and its aftermath."
Miller, who was only 7 on 9/11, said his uncle, Mitchel Wallace, a senior court officer for New York state, was killed trying to rescue victims from the World Trade Center. Miller was around the same age as children grieving relatives on 9/11 who attended Camp America from 2002 to 2011. Their artwork is on display in the new exhibit as part of "The Feathers of Phoenix" sculpture that hangs from the ceiling.
"Everyone had a different way of coping with what happened," said Miller, who grew up in Bayside, Queens.
The bunker coat belonging to FDNY Firefighter Ray Pfeifer is also on display in the exhibit, as part of an area showcasing symbols for advocates who pressed the federal government to fund long term healthcare. Pfeifer died in 2017 from 9/11-related cancer.
Beth Hillman, the president of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, said stories like Pfeifer's will be honored as part of the 25th commemoration ceremony this year.
"A new 7th moment of silence will honor those who have died from 9/11-related illness and injury," Hillman said.
The museum also unveiled a public service announcement that showcases first responders who were not alive during 9/11, but have been inspired to live a life of service because of those who made the ultimate sacrifice that day.
On Sept. 11, the museum will also feature a new 35-minute film with first-person accounts of the attacks and their aftermath, plus a live chat with museum staff from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The film includes personal stories from a survivor, an NYPD first responder, and two brothers whose father was killed on 9/11.
It is open to everyone, and the museum also encourages students and teachers to learn more by registering for the FREE Anniversary Digital Learning Experience.