Unseen Photographs Unearthed By Archivists of 9/11 and Ground Zero Taken By First Responder Now Released

9/11 may have been, the most traumatic and tragic moments in American history and though almost 18 years have passed, it still remains etched as a vivid memory in every American. Regardless of caste creed and color, Americans mourned the lives lost because of a senseless act of terror initiated by hatred that still threatens to consume humanity. But in spite of the loss, the sacrifice will never go in vain and America is as resilient as ever standing always as one nation when the need arises to stand up to terror wherever it rears its ugly face in the world. That being said, a whole new bunch of photographs have surfaced of ground zero.

12400 photos of post ground zero have been discovered

Archivists on the hunt for photographs at a sale purchased a whole bunch of CD and found to their amazement that there were 2400 photos of Ground Zero saved on the discs. The photos were taken of scenes following the 9/11 attacks in 2001. The photographs have been taken by a construction worker who had taken part in the clearing up of the debris of the wreckage of the World Trade Center and its surrounding areas.

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2The images on the CD were retrieved by software

The CD were not in very good condition but the data on them were easily retrieved. The images were of Ground Zero and had been photographed from different areas on ground level and above. The photographs were mainly of construction workers and the damaged blocks of the surrounding towers. The images were uploaded to Flickr.

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3Images of the aftermath of that infamous event

The infamous day saw more than 3000 people losing the lives when four hijacked airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, a field in Pennsylvania and the Pentagon. It was archivist Jason Scott who found the photographs along with his partner Dr Jonathan Burgess at a sale. They then archived the images and uploaded them to Flickr.

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4What DR Burgess had to say about the photos?

Said Dr. Burgess "Generally these items are neglected at sales. It's very likely these would be in a dumpster by now had we not gone, it’s a miracle the discs transferred so well, CD Roms of that age are pretty spotty." The team used a CD recovery service to retrieve most of the images. An attempt to track down the man who had taken the photographs was unsuccessful.

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5Workers also suffered different types of illness

It is unfortunate that several workers who had worked on the clearing of the debris and the areas in the aftermath of the event suffered different types of illness. Almost 40,000 people were exposed to toxic contaminants, suffered injuries or some type of trauma according to reports from the Center of Disease and Prevention. Particular mention must be made of the heroic 300 firefighters who also lost their lives in the event.

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6The pictures of chaotic rubble and devastation

The pictures of the rubble and devastation show the extent of the damage that was done on that day. Those effects are still felt even today and the event is still remembered by many especially those who lost their loved ones in the event.

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7Appeals for including those affected in the fund

Jon Stewart a comedian and presenter has even made an appearance before lawmakers over their inaction to extend the benefits of the Victim Compensation fund to those affected. He gave a powerful and emotional speech to that effect and resulted in lawmakers voting unanimously favoring the bill that will now extend the funding.

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8A worthy cause to honor those who lost their lives

Doctor Burgess said that he was doing what he felt was right for humanity and offered suggestion that people who were moved by the photos to consider donating to any worthy cause associated with the event.

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9Moments frozen in time

As you can see here this appears to be part of a kitchen because of the gas cookers and a tabletop that resembles a modular kitchen table top. The debris themselves appear eerily as a resemblance of life being frozen in time of that particular moment. The crash obviously was instant devastation for the particular floors the airlines crashed into.

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10A silent symbol of peace to temporarily watch over those resting in the rubble

It is ironic that the debris and iron structure that must have been cut by gas cutters resembles a cross. On the other hand it seems as suitable as a symbol of blessing and spirituality watching the mass grave that was the debris of the structure in which thousands of souls were buried.

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11The iron cross

Here again, is another scene with the iron cross as a beacon of peace granted to those who lost their lives. Many died in ways to tragic to speak about. One hopes that never again should such an incident occur to innocents who always suffer at the hands of cowardly terrorists who lack the gumption and the balls to tackle those who can stand up to them. Terrorism is just another new age synonym of cowardice.

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12It took one year to clear the debris

In case you didn’t know, construction workers worked relentlessly for over a year to clear the debris and recover bodies from the ruins. There was intense debate on how to rebuild the WTC and also create a monument to all those who lost their lives in the event. Initial plans were to get the structure rebuilt by September 2011, the 10th anniversary of the attack.

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13Ground Zero looks different

Now at ground zero, the area looks different and far from what transpired that unfateful day. There are four world trade center skyscrapers erected in the same vicinity with the one world trade center now standing as the tallest building in America measuring a height of 542 meters. Following it in height is the world trade center’s 2, 3 and 4.

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14The memorial

In the center of ground zero stands the monument dedicated to the thousands who lost their lives. The 9/11 memorial called reflecting Absence was built in honor of the victims of the 9/11 attacks. It was designed by Architects Peter Walker and Michael Arad. The memorial features a field of trees that are interrupted by footprints of the twin towers. Water pools fill the footprints and beneath that is the memorial space with the walls bearing the names of the victims.

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