9/11 Photo Finds Home After 13 Years- Elizabeth Muscari 6th Period

      Much like Pearl Harbor, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s words, “…a day that will live in infamy” apply to the horrendous September 11^th, 2001. 

     The day in which Al-Qaeda terrorists crashed into New York City’s twin towers and killed more than 3,000 people has been marked in history as a day we will never forget. Even worse, a day that loved ones of victims will not be able to disregard much less recover from. Stories from 9/11 flood newspapers still. They include recordings of last phone calls, recovered pictures belonging to people who were inside of the Twin Towers at the time of the tragedy, and even papers eerily flying around in the air just like leaves falling from trees. One story, however, finally has an ending. 

     Elizabeth Stringer Keefe found a wedding photo in the messy rubble on 9/11. For 13 years, she has posted it asking for the owner or friends of the owner to claim it. After a trending post on Twitter, a friend of the bride and groom came forward tweeting, “I WAS THERE. I was at the wedding.” Fred Maheis the rightful owner of the photo. He told Twitter, ABC, and many other sources that the photo rested on his desk on the 77^th floor of the second Twin Tower. Heartwarming phone calls between Mahe and Keefe took place and Keefe tweeted the good news that all members in the picture were alive and safe. In celebration, Mahe tweeted, “9/11, we remember what we lost. 9/12, we remember what we have.” 

     The now completed story of the missing photo shows the power of social media. Many have now witnessed the true strength of uniting and coming together to recover what others have lost. FDR’s words may ring in our ears, but Aesop’s words shake us when he says, “In union there is strength.” Certainly, for Keefe and Mahe, unity now has a memorable new meaning.

Courtesy of Natalie DiBlasio at http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/13/wedding-photo-911/15582497/