The twin tridents stand guard at the entry to the 9/11 museum, further sym-
bolizing the great success of law enforcement officers and firefighters who
responded.
the worst of times.
Mazucci explains that these programs have compelled agen-
cies to visit the museum as a group, which helps mitigate con-
cerns of officers coming back to the site or because somebody
they know was lost there. The tour begins in the museum’s 175-
seat auditorium and often includes a first responder or civilian
who was there speaking to share firsthand experience.
“For people who weren’t on the job in 2001 or never heard the
story from somebody who was there, it’s a way to make a direct
connection,” Mazucci adds. “We’re seeing more young people
answering the call for service, so we can educate a new genera-
tion of law enforcement about what happened and why.”
At the beginning of a tour, all visitors find twin columns that
had to be cut down and carted away from the site. These are
known as the tridents, and they have been returned to stand
upright at the site, standing guard as another display of the
symbolism that emphasizes the rebuilding and recovery. And it
is from this concourse that the museum emanates its recourse
of healing.
“The experience overall should instill a sense of pride, focus
on the mission and re-energize officers,” Mazucci observes.
“People should remember that 9/11 was the greatest rescue op-
eration in history. Thousands upon thousands of people were
saved as a result of the efforts of officers, firefighters and EMS
personnel.”
Officers will peruse through the artifacts and exhibits decid-
ing what they want to remember or learn about colleagues who
responded, the victims and even the homeland security infra-
structure that has been spawned from that day. There will be
some pain and some perplexing, but all roads lead to the Last
Column, where there is detail to explain the motivation behind
some of the markings on it and what the messages represent.
This is also a good place to pay respects to colleagues and
neighbors who were lost, including nearly 700 New Jersey res-
idents. It’s a continuation of the recognition of the people who
worked on the recovery efforts and a memorial to the people
they were searching for. And it’s a good place to capture the
head-held-high emotions that the 9/11 museum can give any
officer who visits.
“It’s a reminder of this singular moment in American history
that changed policing,” Mazucci reminds. “And it can be a re-
minder of why you signed up to do this job.” d
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