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Elizabeth Gurdus Filling in the Blanks: The Search for Truth Post-9/11 September 11th is a date that remains forever cemented in the minds of New Yorkers, Americans, and anyone who, fourteen years ago, stared numbly at their television, watching thousands of lives crumble. But the day itself remains fragmented. The videos still exist, the memories still perturb, and yet, unanswered questions remain. “There are certain parts of that day I don’t remember, and I come every year to try and fill in the blanks,” said Mike Ross, a former Brooklyn firefighter who was called to the scene on that fateful day in 2001. Taking a position on Fulton and Church Streets, Ross, the chauffeur of the fire truck, stayed back while his colleagues took positions elsewhere. When Ross escaped after the first tower fell, its percussions blew him through a window, breaking his wrist. The rest is foggy, only to be pieced together by a mournful visit each year. Yet those further removed have unfilled blanks, too. On the walk to and from the Sept. 11 memorial site, visitors encounter a group of “truthers,” or people in support of further investigation into the Sept. 11th attacks. Steve Tonas, a fellow

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Elizabeth Gurdus

Filling in the Blanks: The Search for Truth Post-9/11

September 11th is a date that remains forever cemented in the minds of New Yorkers, Americans, and anyone who, fourteen years ago, stared numbly at their television, watching thousands of lives crumble. But the day itself remains fragmented. The videos still exist, the memories still perturb, and yet, unanswered questions remain.

“There are certain parts of that day I don’t remember, and I come every year to try and fill in the blanks,” said Mike Ross, a former Brooklyn firefighter who was called to the scene on that fateful day in 2001. Taking a position on Fulton and Church Streets, Ross, the chauffeur of the fire truck, stayed back while his colleagues took positions elsewhere. When Ross escaped after the first tower fell, its percussions blew him through a window, breaking his wrist. The rest is foggy, only to be pieced together by a mournful visit each year.

Yet those further removed have unfilled blanks, too. On the walk to and from the Sept. 11 memorial site, visitors encounter a group of “truthers,” or people in support of further investigation into the Sept. 11th attacks. Steve Tonas, a fellow truther, said of the Shanksville, PA plane crash on Sept. 11, “The government’s official story is that the plane buried itself. I’d like to know when in aviation history that has happened.”

The self-proclaimed “truth seekers” have garnered support from prominent engineers and architects, and swear by visual evidence, a series of unexplained coincidences, and information they believe the government has withheld from the public. Their presence is controversial – Ross admitted to once trying to fight a “truther” at a rally – and yet, a number of them have too lost loved ones, and are seeking answers like everyone else.

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“I went on a whole journey of finding out what the truth is. And, believe it or not, it’s taken me through this whole path, from supposedly a little conspiracy theory to what I believe today, why I’m actually here on Earth, what my purpose on Earth is,” said Steve Meskisky, a supporter of the truth seekers. Meskisky has no story but this. He lost no loved ones, and he watched the towers collapse on a glass screen. And still, in the search for answers, he awoke.