Beauty From Ashes

September 11th 2001 is one of the darkest days in not only American history, but the history of humanity as a whole. It was a day when the enemy lit up our skies with fire and we were left with a rubble of dust and ashes. At the same time 9/11 was one of the most defining moments in world history in which we found beauty in these ashes we were left with. Some of the most inspirational stories you will ever hear are the stories of good that rose from the ashes of September 11th 2001 and how we became a better world.

Noon on September 11th 2001. A dark grey cloud of dust blankets lower Manhattan as hundreds of rescue workers converge on ground zero to dig for survivors in what is now the rubble of the World Trade Center. Smoke is still bellowing out of the west side of the Pentagon in Washington DC and a smoldering crash site is all that remains of United Airlines Flight 93. In just 102 minutes we had entered a new world. What was gonna be humanity’s reaction to this new world?

In the face of unimaginable terror you saw random acts of kindness taking place as everyone in the footprints of the attacks struggled to stay alive. Everyone at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon had a kind word and a helping hand to extend towards their neighbor to lift the human spirit amidst the chaos. In doing this many bonds and new relationships were formed. One such relationship was that of Stanley Praimnath and Brian Clark.

When the south tower of the World Trade Center was impacted at 9:03 a.m. on the morning of 9/11 Stanley Praimnath’s office took a direct hit and he was trapped by debris. When it seemed like all was lost for Stanley, Brian Clark came to Stanley’s aid and rescued him. The two men made it out of the tower together just minutes before it collapsed. From there the two became best friends and declared that they would be brothers for life. They still maintain their bond to this day. The bond between Brian and Stanley is one of countless that was formed that day. Many people built bridges with complete strangers on that fateful day. In the case of Operation Yellow Ribbon these bridges came in the form of giving complete strangers a temporary home.

As the attack entered its third act that morning the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered every aircraft flying over the US airspace and coming into the airspace to land immediately regardless of destination. The landing process was chaotic and was particularly hectic in Canada which would host Operation Yellow Ribbon. As per the operation, Canada became home to thousands of air travelers and hundreds of air crews who were stranded amidst the shutdown of air travel. Many Canadians opened their own homes to these strangers, turning their stranded by terror into an unexpected mini vacation. Many of the stranded occupants would later testify that Canada’s kindness was a beacon of light amidst all the darkness of that Tuesday morning.

Forgiveness. For many people such a word seemed impossible to achieve after the attacks, but not for one of the young men who lost his mother in the attacks.

36 year Michele Lanza was a victim of the World Trade Center’s south tower on 9/11. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, filmmaker James Ronald Whitney made a documentary chronicling the struggle of Michele’s family in coming to terms with her death, especially that of her seven year old son she left behind, Nicholas. The documentary became one of the earliest and most critically acclaimed documentaries about 9/11 titled Telling Nicholas (2002).

After the death of his mother Michele, seven year old Nicholas Lanza went to live with his father and struggled with adjusting to life without his mother growing up. Nicholas battled with inner demons of depression, and unforgiveness for years until he found deliverance from his inner turmoil in a journey to church camp and a strengthening of his relationship with his faith. As a teen Nicholas made it a goal to meet Osama Bin Laden, the man responsible for the 9/11 attacks and tell him that he forgave him for murdering his mother, but was disappointed that he would never get to achieve that goal when Bin Laden was killed in 2011. Today Nicholas declares himself a better person due to his relationship with God and he firmly believes that everyone else who has struggled with the pain of that September morning can find their way out of the darkness just as he did.

September 11th 2001 definitely had a way of showing us what was wrong with the world around us, but it also had a way of showing us what was wrong with the person in the mirror. In the days, weeks, and months following that September morning many people took a closer look at what and who really mattered the most in life. In the brokenness of the world around us we had to repair the brokenness of the self. One person who had to learn this lesson was Washington DC based lawyer Frank Razzano.

On September 11th 2001 Frank Razzano was staying at the Marriott Hotel that sat at the base of the World Trade Center complex. Frank was in Manhattan for a trial later that afternoon, but when the attacks started that morning Frank was unfazed. He was very dismissive of the unfolding terror as the towers were being decimated just above him. Frank didn’t realize the danger he was in until the south tower collapsed on top of him nearly killing him. When it seemed like he wasn’t going to make it, firefighter Jeff Johnson helped him get out of what was left of the Marriott.

When Frank, Jeff and the other survivors from the Marriott rose from the rubble Frank realized his mortality. He realized how foolishly self absorbed he had been, not only that day, but throughout his life. Frank Razzano survived 9/11 and made it to his daughter’s wedding 19 months later. He and Jeff Johnson had become good friends and he even had Jeff present at his daughter’s wedding. Frank worked on becoming a better man and grew as a person. As did many others because they realized how precious life is and why you can’t take one second and any person you’re sharing it with for granted.

Nicholas Lanza wasn’t the only child of 9/11 who found an oasis of hope in the years following. Thousands of children lost their parents in 9/11. One of the many ideas that was put into action to help these children cope with the loss of their parents on September 11th was creating summer camps for these children to attend as a safe space with other children who lost their parents in 9/11. Two of the camps created in this spirit are America’s Camp and Camp Better Days. At these camps the children of 9/11 victims and heroes learned to have fun and enjoy life amidst their losses. They all found their happiness in spite of their heartache and have built solid bonds of friendship that cannot be broken. One of the greatest stories to come out of these camps is the love story of Brielle Saracini and Sean McGuire.

Brielle Saracini’s father Victor was the pilot on United Airlines flight 175 which hit the south tower of the World Trade Center. Sean McGuire’s father Patrick was a victim of the 83rd floor of the south tower due to the crash of United 175. Brielle and Sean met two years after 9/11 while attending Camp Better Days together. They started off as good friends before eventually becoming a couple. 14 years after their friendship began they got married on September 9th 2017, just two days shy of the 16 year anniversary of 9/11. Brielle and Sean’s journey is a testimony of how even death can give birth to new life.

A lot of lives perished that September morning and we all wish life was as simple as just bringing them back. Though we can’t bring them back we can make sure they didn’t die in vain by using their deaths for a good cause.

11 year old Asia Cottom was one of the children victims who died in 9/11 as a passenger on American Airlines flight 77. Asia was on that plane that morning because she was one of three great students who were selected to go on an educational field trip for National Geographic. After 9/11 Asia’s parent Michelle and Clifton recieved a lot of donations of support. They used these donations to create a scholarship fund in Asia’s memory and with it they have financially aided a lot of bright young students like Asia in working towards their futures. No parent should ever have to bury their child, but after they buried their daughter the Cottoms made sure Asia’s legacy lived on by helping youngsters like their daughter reach their dreams.

Asia’s family was one of many 9/11 families who created charitable organizations to help others in their lost loved one’s memory. Many of these charities were heavily supported in part thanks to being in the spotlight of the public eye by the entertainment industry. I really love how the world of entertainment showed their support for everyone effected by 9/11 because they were effected as well. In the weeks and months after 9/11 a number of celebrity hosted benefit concerts were held to aid 9/11 victims and their families, as well as show national solidarity through music and entertainment. These concerts included The Concert For New York City, America: A Tribute To Heroes, and United We Stand, hosted by Michael Jackson.

September 11th 2001 is one of the darkest days in human history. However, it also gave birth to some of the best displays of the human spirit. We all learned life lessons about how we should regard ourselves and each other. Life is precious and so is everyone in it. We have to make every second count and we have to make sure the most important words never go unspoken. After that agonizing day we came together as one race, the human race. In the aftermath of that Tuesday morning a spirit of unity and oneness was formed like never before and we all felt it, I certainly did and we really made each other proud in that respect. I’ll never forget July 4th 2002, the first Independence Day after 9/11. To this day I have never seen everyone feel so proud to be Americans more than they did that first Independence Day after 9/11. Because after September 11th 2001 we finally came to a realization of what that truly means and who we really are.

We were stripped of all of our layers, realizing that we are stronger as one and more selflessness and kindness followed. More than anything we learned that nothing in life matters more than the people living in it and once they have departed from us their legacies will be measured in the good we enact in their names. Life can really be a burning rain of fire, but after the fire is reduced to ash we can find beauty in those ashes.

~Dedicated to the memory of September 11th 2001. We gained beauty from the ashes.