SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KGTV) — To mark the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum has set up a simple way people can honor those who were lost that day.
Drawing on the beauty of the sky before the tragic event unfolded, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum's “Remember the Sky” campaign is asking everyone to post a photo of the sky from wherever they are on Sept. 11 to Instagram, including "#NeverForget911" and "@911memorial" in the caption.
"Anyone who tells you their 9/11 story from New York will tell you how crystal clear that blue sky was. It's really the start of the story for practically everybody," said Clifford Chanin, executive vice president and deputy director of museum programs at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. "So what we wanted to do was remember together, with everyone, what that sky was. So what we're asking people is that on the morning of 9/11, you take a picture of the sky wherever you are — and in San Diego, you're likely to have a very blue sky — because remembering the sky is the way of getting into remembering 9/11."
The campaign is an effort to educate the next generation of Americans, for who 9/11 wasn’t an experienced lived, but is one taught today.
"We're 20 years after 9/11. An estimated 75 million new Americans have been born since 9/11. So there's an entire generation that must, must learn this story," Chanin added.
Anthoula Katsimatides, a Board of Trustees member of the museum, lost her brother, John, in the Sept. 11 attacks at the World Trade Center. Following the terror attacks, she served as former New York Governor George Pataki's liaison to 9/11 families.
She said one of the museum's main missions is to help others remember the fallen and never forget the impact of the events that day.
"One of our major missions is to remember the victims lost and to never forget who they were. And we do that very nicely in the museum. There's a whole area dedicated to the victims that showcases not only their names ... but also has their beautiful faces and their photographs, and a way to call up each individual so that we can hear a little bit about them as told by their loved ones," said Katsimatides.
The museum has also activated an art installation with 2,983 different shades of blue watercolor, representing the lives lost during the 2001 and 1993 attacks at the World Trade Center.
"It is so crucial to continue to sustain this type of museum, this memorial. Because quite honestly, quite selfishly, when I'm gone, it's the only place that's going to house John's memory. And to me, that's everything," Katsimatides added.
Beyond the “Remember the Sky” campaign, people can help support the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and its continued efforts to educate future generations through the Never Forget Fund, which is accepting donations and offering a keepsake metal ticket with donations of $50 or more.
Click here for more information on the "Remember the Sky" campaign and the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
This story was first reported by Mark Saunders on 10News.com.
