February 15, 2008

Dear Family and Friends,

While our staff is working diligently in our offices to expand the 9/11 Living Memorial digital archive, my husband Frank and I met with 9/11 family members in Raleigh, North Carolina yesterday.   It was truly a pleasure to meet families for the first time and hear about the wonderful lives of their loved ones that will be reflected in the 9/11 Living Memorial.
  

Again, we find that many family members attending workshops outside of the New York tri-state area have had limited interaction with other 9/11 family members.  These families are a true testament to the personal strength and resiliency of so many who are joining us for the first time.   

It's important to remind all of our membership that VOICES continues to offer teleconference support groups which are facilitated by our social workers.  These groups provide an opportunity for those who experienced a similar loss to connect with the 9/11 community.    With our membership growing by over 1,000 in the past year to nearly 7,000 - we welcome all members to take advantage of these services.  Please contact our office if you are interested. 

In closing, knowing that holidays are a difficult time for so many, I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day.   

Warm regards,

Mary and the VOICES staff

VOICES programs and events

VOICES is hosting five more 9/11 Living Memorial Workshops in February and March, including one for families of victims of the 1993 WTC bombing.
This Tuesday, we will have a workshop in New Canaan, CT.  9/11 family members, rescue workers and survivors are invited to participate. The workshops provide an opportunity to learn more about the 9/11 Living Memorial digital archive and how to create tribute pages in memory of your loved ones or to document your first-hand personal accounts. Please bring items for our staff to digitize such as photographs, memorial programs, written tributes and other information. We encourage you to bring quilts, artwork and tangible items that you would like us to photograph for the digital archive. For a list of items we're collecting for the archive, visit VOICES' website.

Registration in advance is required. For more information or to register for one of the workshops below, contact Michelle Doherty at VOICES of September 11th, (203) 966-3911 or toll free (866) 505-3911, or by e-mail to mdoherty@voicesofsept11.org. We are organizing workshops around the country over the coming year. Please contact us if you would like us to host a workshop in your area.

New Canaan, CT
Date: Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Time: 10:00am to 4:00pm (by appointment)
Location: VOICES of September 11th, 161 Cherry Street, New Canaan, CT 06840

New York, NY (private, for families of victims of 1993 World Trade Center bombing)
Date: Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Basking Ridge, NJ
Date: Thursday, March 6, 2008
Time: 5:00pm to 8:00pm
Location: Saint Mark's Episcopal Church, 140 South Finley Avenue, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920

Wellesley, MA
Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Time: TBD
Location: Wellesley Free Library, 530 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA 02482 

Pomona, NY
Date: Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Time: 12:00pm to 3:00pm and 5:00pm to 8:00pm
Location: Rockland County Fire Training Center, 35 Firemen's Memorial Drive, Pomona, NY 10970

The 9/11 Living Memorial is dedicated to commemorating the lives and stories of September 11, 2001 and the February 26, 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

9/11 Living memorial feature

William Hunt, "Bill":

Memories, Pictures and Video Help a Family to Recover

“Memories, pictures and videos play a huge role in our daily recovery.  We cherish each and every photo taken, memorable tales shared, and videos seen with Bill’s face and voice,” William Hunt’s mother, Diane, wrote in an e-mail just two years after his death.  She realized that her pain was shared by so many others who lost a loved one that day.“All of us in our personal way will go on minute by minute, hour by hour, and day by day making sure we keep alive the memory of those we loved and lost on September 11th.”

It was the need to preserve these memories that made Bill Hunt’s family create his 9/11 Living Memorial tribute pages.  32-year-old Bill, from Norwalk, Connecticut, was working as a Vice President and Bond Broker at Eurobrokers on the 84th floor of Two WTC on September 11, 2001.  He had been married to his wife Jennifer for three years and had a 15-month-old daughter, Emma.  Bill also had a loving brother, Dan, who describes Bill in a poem on the 9/11 Living Memorial as “My Brother: My Friend, My Hero.” The digital archive also contains a letter Dan wrote on behalf of his brother to his parents the Christmas after his death, urging them to keep up their family traditions for the Christmas season. 

Bill Hunt’s tribute pages also contain pictures of his childhood, his friends, his wedding, and his memorial service.  They paint a unique portrait of a loving son, husband,  father and brother, and of a life that ended too soon.

The 9/11 Living Memorial is dedicated to commemorating the lives and stories of September 11, 2001 and the February 26, 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

EVENTS AND INFORMATION FOR THE 9/11 COMMUNITY

Press Release : PSA Bipartisan Statement at Center of Senate Torture Debate
Senators Cite, Read into Record Statement of Eighteen Former Top Officials  

Amid ongoing debate over an amendment to restrict cruel interrogation practices by the CIA, Senators have repeatedly cited the Partnership for a Secure America's latest statement opposing cruel treatment. Senator Feinstein (D-CA) produced a poster-sized copy of the statement and read it into the record, including the names of its eighteen prominent signatories from both parties.  

Read the Full Press Release

Six Guantanamo Bay Detainees to be Charged for 9/11 Involvement

Six Guantanamo Bay prisoners are to face charges for their alleged involvement in the attacks of September 11th, 2001, the Pentagon has announced. Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for all six in what is likely to be a controversial trial by military tribunal.

The charges have been sworn against six suspects, including the alleged architect of the plot, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. In announcing the charges, Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann, legal adviser to the Pentagon, said the charges alleged a "long -term, highly sophisticated plan by al-Qaeda to attack the U.S." He said these war crime proceedings will "continue to move forward in open trials and with more due process than any alleged war criminal has historically received."

Read extensive coverage of the story

here.

To find out more about military tribunals click

here.