The National September 11 Memorial & Museum remembered on Monday the six lives lost on the 31st anniversary of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in a terrorist attack that served as a harbinger of 9/11.
Gathering at the reflecting pools in Lower Manhattan, families of those lost and leading museum staff clutched flowers as they observed a moment of silence. John DiGiovanni, Robert Kirkpatrick, Stephen Knapp, William Macko, Wilfredo Mercado, and Monica Rodriguez Smith and her unborn child were all killed on Feb. 26, 1993 when terrorists detonated a truck bomb inside the underground parking garage.
In addition to the traffic deaths, the detonation of more than 1,200 pounds of explosives in the middle of a snowy work day at the World Trade Center’s twin towers injured over 1,000 others. First responders also evacuated 50,000 people.
Eight years later, on Sept. 11, 2001, the twin towers would come down after terrorists rammed hijacked airlines into both buildings — killing nearly 3,000 people in the process, including nearly two dozen police officers and 343 members of the New York City Fire Department who responded to the attacks that morning of infamy.
The events of 9/11 cast a different perspective on the 1993 bombing. During the construction of the 9/11 Memorial, the names of the six 1993 bombing victims were included along side the 9/11 victims to help ensure no one would forget both days.
“Thirty-one years ago, this day was marked by violence and loss. Today, we remember and commemorate the lives ended by that tragic moment in our history,” President & CEO of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum Elizabeth Hillman said. “Here at the Memorial & Museum, we are honored to share stories about, and memories of, these six people with the millions of visitors who come each year to pay their respects and learn more.”
Families read the names before joining as one to lay the flowers upon the north pool, holding back tears and hands caressing the names of their departed loved ones. Still, despite having been more than three decades, the pain is still fresh.
“No one’s memory deserves to be forgotten,” Steve Knapp, grandson of Stephen Knapp said. “And with this being here, this keeps all their memories alive.”
The time of the attack, 12:26 p.m., was marked with the single toll of a bell.
