PENSACOLA, Fla. – Seeing actual artifacts from ground zero is not very easy without a trip to New York. But there is one spot in Florida that has been collecting memorabilia.
The Pensacola Museum of History has opened a 9/11 exhibit to memorialize the tragedy 20 years later. The museum had been working for more than a year to get memorabilia from museums in New York.
Because this Sept. 11 marks the 20th year since the attacks, museums from all over the country have been working to get artifacts.
SPECIAL SECTION: Remembering 9/11: 20 years later
“There are a lot of institutions around the country and are wanting to memorialize that moment,” said Jessie Cragg, the curator of exhibits for the University of West Florida. UWF is sponsoring the exhibit.
One of the reasons the exhibit in Downtown Pensacola is small: the competition for memorabilia is fierce.
Pensacola’s exhibit is centered on first responders. It includes gear like fire helmets and a pair of boots. The boots have been perfectly preserved and still have dust on them from ground zero.
“To protect the items, we have some very specific guidelines we have to follow so we don’t knock a lot of stuff off,” said Cragg.
There is also a video playing on a loop telling the story of 9/11. It includes a Pensacola man who assisted in the clean up and rescue. Petty Officer First Class Timothy Martin currently serves at Naval Air Station Pensacola.
Back in 2001, he was working at a fire station in Maine.
“I had just finished up a rotation for my emergency medical technician. I worked for the fire department at the time,” said Martin. “This was the first camaraderie with the firefighters coming together. The amount of affection of the firefighters was unlike anything I had ever seen prior to my experience working with the marine corps.”
In the exhibit, there is also a box where people can drop off cards to share their memories of the day.
“I was in the second grade on September 11, 2001,” wrote one person. “I saw the destruction of the towers on repeat. It was the first time I felt congnisant [sic] of the world around me”
If you are in the Pensacola area and interested in seeing the exhibit, it will be on display at the Pensacola Museum of History until January.