It has been 24 years since a total of 161 people with ties to Connecticut were murdered in the September 11th terrorist attacks that killed 2,977 people.
The attacks injured thousands more, and has been credited with giving rise to substantial long-term health consequences while also causing at least $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage.
It remains the deadliest terrorist attack in history, as well as the deadliest incident for 343 firefighters and 72 law enforcement personnel. The crashes of Flight 11 and Flight 175 were the deadliest aviation disasters of all time, and the collision of Flight 77 with the Pentagon resulted in the fourth-highest number in history of ground fatalities from a plane crash.
We have not forgotten, and neither has the City of New York’s Medical Examiner’s office (OCME). On August 7th, after nearly 24 years, NYC officials identified three more 9/11 victims.
Officials with the medical examiner’s office reached out to Paul Keating’s family a few months ago to say they believed a team of forensic scientists had made a breakthrough. Combining material collected after the September 11, 2001 terror attack, they had found a DNA match between human remains and Keating’s mother, Barbara Keating, who died aboard one of the passenger jets that slammed into the World Trade Center. The identification was confirmed publicly by the office of NYC’s chief medical examiner. “I think it’s stunning,” Keating told NPR, referring to efforts by the city to help families find closure. “They’re doing this for us. They’re doing it like they’re possessed.”
Officials say the identifications of Ryan Fitzgerald, Barbara Keating and a woman unnamed at her family’s request were confirmed using DNA testing of remains gathered in 2001 and 2002. So far, roughly 40% of the deceased remain unidentified.
The Office of Chief Medical Examiner stated: “In addition to the three new identifications this year, OCME has identified 22 human remains associated with previously identified individuals.”
“Nearly 25 years after the disaster at the World Trade Center, our commitment to identify the missing and return them to their loved ones stands as strong as ever,” Dr. Jason Graham, NYC’s chief medical examiner, said in a statement on NPR.
According to news source AM New York, a federal judge in New York has ruled a case seeking to hold the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) responsible for financial and logistical support to the terrorists can move forward.
This is a major milestone for the victims’ families. Southern District of New York United State District Judge George B. Daniels has denied a motion by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to dismiss a lawsuit, arguing that the government supported two Al Qaeda terrorists as they prepared for the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Information from the 9/11 Memorial and Museum states: “Since the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) became law in 2016, members of the 9/11 community have been engaged in a legal struggle to determine whether the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was directly involved in supporting some of the terrorists who attacked the United States on September 11, 2001. In the wake of over 20 recent depositions with former Saudi officials, 9/11 family member Brett Eagleson, former FBI special agent Ken Williams, and Ali Soufan, chairman and chief executive officer of The Soufan Group, spoke publicly and shared the evidence that has been amassed thus far.”
The following poem is by Kelly Bosco Manzi, sister of Richard Edward Bosco
Broken Sky, Never the Same, Forever Changed
By Kelly Manzi
Tuesday came, like any other day
Heading to work, school, daycare
Nothing changed, seemed ok
Blue sky, clouds, summer holding on
In an instant, broken sky, every day gone
Never the same, forever changed
Heroes rushed in, uniform or not
Working together to save, recover
Not a thought of fear or doubt
Sacrifices made, yesterday, today
A generation grown… honor, remember, relay
Never the same, forever changed
So many lives, never complete
Keep memories, like glimmers of sun
In a broken sky, on repeat
How would life be, if you were still here?
Keep moving on, live their dreams beyond tears
Never the same, forever changed
