Put It Above Ground

What continues to happen at Ground Zero is like a bad dream with 9/11 families being constantly reminded by mistake after mistake.

Just this week we had confidential blueprints of the Freedom Tower found in the trash.

Reminds us of the personal computer with confidential 9/11 information that was stolen with little or no follow up

We have the Director of the Port Authority resigning at the request of the new Governor.

Just today we had a report identifying the director of the NYC Health Registry as the head of studies that exposed kids to lead and potential hazards.

An appeals court likened one of the studies to Nazi experiments and the Tuskegee trial that denied black men treatment for syphilis.

This while victims who suffer the effects of 9/11 are denied treatment while lawyers and Larry Silverstein seem to be the only ones being financially rewarded by the city, state and federal governments.

And the carousel of insanity just continues with no signs of stopping.

Add these recent events to the mismanagement of the deconstruction of the Deutsche Bank Building that uncovered remains that were ignored for over five years and led to the death of two firefighters.

$350 Million has been raised for a memorial with little or no input from the families of victims but no one has done a recent estimate of what the costs will ultimately be or if any of the recommendations of Mr, Schiame are still being followed. ($500 Million limit)

Over 1,700 remains found over the last two years and we get haphazard reports regarding the identification of remains while the remains at Fresh Kills continue to be ignored.

Legitimate support organizations are forced to shut down due to lack of funding while millions of dollars are moved into slush funds to support pet projects of the City Council.

And the only thing that remains constant is the total lack of accountability.

Business as usual at Ground Zero

Put It Above Ground

7th Annual - “9-11 Remembrance & Patriotic Gratitude

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=42377

Dear families.

Please read the following message from Richard McDonough.

In addition to this moving tribute of flags, Mr. McDonough is working diligently trying to find a location for the human remains that are still languishing at Fresh Kills.

Brother David has brought the bell for the Unforgotten to Plymouth Meeting, PA.

I remember how meaningful this moment was for us when we dedicated the bell at the World Trade Center site. I do hope some of you can attend this ceremony in Pennsylvania.

Thank you,

Diane Horning

We would welcome you and your family and other families–as well as all others–to visit the Respond With Love Flag Garden in Plymouth Meeting (located northwest of Philadelphia).

We will be ringing the Bell of the Unforgotten starting at 6 AM tomorrow morning through 7:03 PM tomorrow night.

6 AM on Friday, April 18, 2008, will be the 25th anniversary of the first terror attack on the United States of America.

It was on that date in 1983 that the United States Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, was bombed. It is on that date that the third world war began.

The Respond With Love Flag Garden is at the Plymouth Township Bicentennial Park, located at 700 Belvoir Road in Plymouth Meeting, Montgomery County.

There are 8,808 American flags (as of April 15, 2008) in the Respond With Love Flag Garden.

Additional flags will be added, as needed, during the next few days.

The number of flags was based on the number of Americans killed while in service to their country throughout the world, the number of Americans killed in acts of terror throughout the world, and the number of other nationals killed in acts of terror on American soil.

The Respond With Love Flag Garden covers about two to three acres.

The lines were placed on the land on Friday, April 11, 2008, and the flags were placed on Saturday, April 12, 2008. The flags will remain in place through April 20, 2008.

Attached is a news release as well as two photo of the 2008 Respond With Love Flag Garden.

Also attached is the schedule of when we will ring the Bell of the Unforgotten throughout the day on Friday, April 18, 2008, to remember each major event during World War III.

You can see the Respond With Love Flag Garden in 2007 at:

http://www.respondwithlove.org/site/arwl/section.php?id=519

You can see the YouTube video of the Respond With Love Flag Garden in 2007
at:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqLp8IbNqfY

The video was put together by a military representative in Indiana to highlight this program.

The Respond With Love Flag Garden in 2007 included 7,979 American flags.

During 2008, we are also encouraging the public to donate diapers, paper towels, and other similar non-food items. These products will be given to families of the men and women who are serving our country today.

I can be reached directly through this email as well as by telephone at 610-731-HOPE or at 610-731-4673 or through our national telephone number of 1-321-AMERICA or 1-321-263-7422.

Thank you for your willingness to help those most in need.

Sincerely yours,

Richard McDonough
America Responds With Love, Inc.

Dear 9/11 Family Member:

I am a reporter for the Reuters news agency and am writing a story about the U.S. military’s plans to televise the Guantanamo trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and five other prisoners accused of direct involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks. They’re doing it via closed-circuit broadcast to military bases in the Northeast, similar to the way the courts did for Zacarias Moussoaui’s trial. The viewing sites will be open only to relatives of those killed in the attacks.

I am trying to reach out to any of the 9/11 families who watched the Moussoaui trial via closed-circuit? I’m looking for a comment on whether watching that helped them feel that some measure of justice had been done and generally interested in their views on the plan to make the Guantanamo feed available.

I’m reachable by phone at (305) 810-2688 or via e-mail at jane.sutton@reuters.com

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Jane Sutton

To All,

I have received a few calls from the media asking to interview any family members who were selected to meet with the Pope.

If you would like to oblige please let me know at 718-966-6531

Also even if you do not want to speak with the media I would like to see how many of you were selected.

Thanks

Dennis

Dear Friends,

As of Friday, April 11 at 11:59 p.m., the Church Street entrance to the WTC PATH station will be closed. There will be no access to Gate 10. The new entrance to the WTC family trailer will be through Gate 4 at Vesey and Church Streets. Please pass the word to those you feel appropriate.

Thank you.

Norma Manigan

Manager, Public Relations
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

THE REMAINS OF FRESH KILLS

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=42248

4 NEW WTC IDENTIFICATIONS 

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=42215

How would you like to have a memorial where you could;

Sit in a 21,000 square foot memorial garden and peacefully reflect

Walk through the 16,000 square foot United in Memory 9/11 Victims Memorial Quilt and view quilt patches from all over the world honoring all of the victims of 9/11

Walk through a Corridor of Memories that will have 8 x 10 photos of all of the victims arranged by their affiliation with information (name age location on 9/11) supplied by family members.

Record a memory of your lost loved one or listen to recorded memories of others who have visited the memorial.

Become a contributor to programs being developed based on the lessons learned after 9/11

Walk through an atrium dedicated to those who have died since 2001 as a result of the attacks of 9/11

View items and keepsakes of those who died on 9/11 donated by family members.

View current and ongoing initiatives pertaining to unresolved 9/11 issues including the proper burial of remains, and on going health benefits.

Walk through a corridor dedicated to the unsung heroes of 9/11 including the K-9 crews that helped locate survivors and remains.

View recordings of events since 9/11 that have brought people together and defined a generation.

If this is a type of a memorial that you would like to be a part of, we would like your input, as this is what the Hearts and Hands Memorial will be.

Located on Staten Island 45 minutes away from the hectic activity of Lower Manhattan.

Close enough to Ground Zero but far enough away so as not to be a stop on the tourist bus schedule.

A place where 9/11 family members and non family members can come to respectfully honor those who died, learn about those who survived, get to know those who came to help and get an unbiased view of the events of 9/11 and the most horrific attack in the history of America.

We are currently putting together our distribution as we are moving into the formal planning stages to make this dream a reality.

If you would like to be a part of this or if you know of anyone or any corporation or organization who would like to join this effort please have them contact us at info@where-to-turn.org or 718-966-6531.

Please provide

Name
Address
E-Mail Address

And we will add you to the Hearts and Hands Distribution and keep you abreast during every stage of development of this project.

Please share this with your friends and any other interested parties and if you have any questions please contact me at 718-966-6531 or click the link below.

“Lest we Forget”

Dennis McKeon

The Hearts and Hands Memorial Project

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/

On March 17th 2005 we launched the Where to Turn website with the hope of continuing the work that we began shortly after 9/11 with the St. Clare’s WTC Outreach Program.Our mission was to create a place where the families of 9/11 Victims could go to find unbiased information about 9/11 events and developments.

We also extended our outreach to include any victims of tragedy and have worked with Tsunami victims as well as the victims of Katrina.

We also wanted to take many of the lessons learned from 9/11 and develop local and national programs work with other organizations addressing issues that had fallen through the cracks.

Over the years we have made many new friends and have helped coordinate many events in and outside the realm of 9/11.

Since March 2005 nearly 200,000 have visited the Where to Turn and Put It Above Ground Sites.

We have posted over 50,000 items and our resource links now number over 800.

We have always attempted to respond to all issues raised by visitors and have always tried to post all views whether we agreed with them or not.

When we had an opinion we were not afraid to voice it and we continue to do so.

At times we have taken stands that were not popular with certain elected officials but we have never been about politics.

This has cost us financially but we hope that we have shown that this was never about the money.

We made a commitment shortly after 9/11 that we would be available as long as the families needed us.

We stand by that commitment today.

We also made a commitment to senior citizens and our youth and we have continued to serve them as well.

As we begin the 4th year of our website we would like to thank all those that have helped us along the way.

We have met so many special and amazing people many of whom have overcome tremendous suffering and hardship.

Whether it be our friends who have lost children in accidents or our veterans who are constantly being mistreated we will always try to be there to help.

And although none of our staff lost a family member on 9/11 we will continue to stand with them even as some others forget that there are still many unresolved 9/11 issues.

We have initiated numerous local projects included the Snow Shoveling for Seniors and the Changing the Face of Staten Island Graffiti Removal programs and will continue to do so as issues arise.

We will also be make good on our promise to create a permanent home for the United in Memory 9/11 Victims Memorial Quilt at our Hearts and Hands Memorial which will honor those lost on 9/11 as well as those who helped and continue to suffer. It will also offer a quiet sanctuary for anyone who wants reflect and pay their respects for those killed on 9/11.

We hope that we have not disappointed and would appreciate any comments on how we may improve our efforts.

Again thanks for letting us continue our efforts.

“Lest We Forget”

Dennis
Debbie
Kathy