New Artifacts Rotated on View in the Historical Exhibition

Several new items have rotated on view in the 9/11 Memorial Museum’s historical exhibition. Artifacts in this exhibition tell the story of the events of the day as well as demonstrate the tasks undertaken in the immediate aftermath.

A recovered passport and case from Flight 93 passenger Toshiya Kuge has rotated onto view in the first section of the historical exhibition, Events of the Day. A second-year college student studying engineering, Kuge was heading home to Japan on Flight 93 after vacationing in the United States and Canada. Toshiya was eager to become fluent in English so that he could apply to an American university for graduate school.

Boarding the plane for the first leg of his return journey, he carried his passport in a case that he and his mother had picked out.

Several items of improvised equipment used during rescue operations at Ground Zero have rotated onto view in the After 9/11 section of the historical exhibition. Tools and a pair of gloves belonging to George Torres of FDNY Squad 41 and a helmet belonging to Todd Wider, a medical volunteer, will replace a hard hat and shirt worn by recovery worker Robert Gayer.

Many rescue and recovery workers adapted equipment to meet specific needs at Ground Zero. Torres used a garden tool to dig on-site, fashioning a belt out of rope to carry it. Wider received this helmet when he joined the emergency response and taped a red cross to the front to identify himself as a doctor.

Finally, a new installation of materials attached to the Last Column have rotated onto view in Foundation Hall. The selection of memorial cards, patches, and tributes adhered to the Last Column will replace a previous set of ephemera. These tributes were originally attached to the Last Column and were removed for conservation and display. Replicas have been affixed to the column in their place.

By 9/11 Memorial Staff