9/11 photos on display at U.S. Embassy
Posted Sep 3, 2011 05:58:23 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – As the United States marks the anniversary of the terror attacks on September 11 2001, the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa is commemorating the outpouring of support from Canadians in the days following the attacks.
Ten photographs taken by an embassy staff member now hang on the gates along Sussex Drive.
The exhibit is called “Thank you Canada” and shows images of the flowers, candles and letters left by thousands of Canadians along the gates of the embassy.
Because U.S. Ambassador David Jacobson was so touched by the response of the community in Gander, Newfoundland he will spend September 11 2011 in that community.
But he said the response here in Ottawa was no less important because it showed him America was not alone despite the horror of that morning that he says will never be erased. So on Friday he held a commemorative ceremony outside the gates to unveil the images and to thank Canadians for their support.
He said that it is important that each year on the anniversary people pause to remember what happened.
“But it will also be a time to commemorate the bonds that we share with our friends, with those who stood with the people of the United States, a time to remind the world of our gratitude and how much those simple gestures meant,” he said.
It’s those simple gestures being honoured here today and for the next two weeks in the touching photos that now hang from the gates many in the spot where the photos were taken nearly 10 years ago.
Jacobson said he remembered the response from Canadians even though he was working as a lawyer in Chicago at the time.
“In the dark hours that followed the events on that bright September morning there was nothing, nothing that people here in Ottawa could do,” he said. “But all the same, so many found that they just couldn’t do nothing. So they came. Theirs was a simple act, spontaneous, gracious. Along the length of this building, along this historic street, Canadians placed bouquets of flowers, they left candles, red white and blue balloons, and drawings by children. The heartfelt words of men and women inscribed on homemade cards. Words of sorrow, words in elegy, words of support and of resolve.”
Canadians can now see those tributes again as they hang on the gates of the embassy, where they will remain on display for the next two weeks.
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