Touched By Terror: 911 Snapshots

Where were you this day 10 years ago? Millions of us were affected by  the 9/11 attacks. Loved ones lost, grieving for those we never knew, grieving for a nostalgic sense of security we thought we had.

So many inspired reactions have come from the Sept. 11 devastation, along with the heartache, and Belmont Shore can be proud of one of the largest memorial events in the country.

Gary Biggerstaff of Belmont Heights visited Ground Zero and came upon a note penned by a boy to his father. The boy was 9, the father a firefighter who perished in the towers. Wrenchingly painful as the child vowed to never forget his Dad, Biggerstaff vowed the same. Thousands have flocked to his petite Belmont Heights front yard, where he wrote the names of each firefighter killed in the 9/11 attacks on a white cross. Three hundred and forty three crosses. Nearby he honored 61 police officers lost in the attacks.

To help reflect the vast array of experiences, Patch looked out across our sites to pull together 911 snapshots of everyday Americans whose lives were changed by the events of that day.

From across the country, this Patch site and hundreds of others captured the faces, keepsakes, memorials, ceremonies, flags, fund-raisers, deployments and the still-raw emotions that followed the attacks.

Taken together they create a powerful mosaic that is large in scope but often deeply personal. Click through to see how your neighbors near and far marked the day.