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In commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, KUNC presents a day of special programming from NPR News, StoryCorps, The Sonic Memorial Project, and independent radio producers and reporters nationwide. All coverage will be collected in this archive.6:00 AM – 12:00 PM: NPR Special Coverage“To mark 10 years since the attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon on September 11, NPR will air coverage leading up to September 11 and on the day itself. The overarching theme of coverage is: How has America changed? NPR will air rigorous reporting on everything from national security to politics to our culture, and also reflecting on the human toll -- the impact of September 11th on people's lives and our country. Hosted by Audie Cornish”12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: StoryCorps: We Remember“An intimate look at lives forever changed by the attacks on 9/11. These are stories from families and friends who tell us about their loved ones and their loss: the father who recalls the last words he shared with his son, the recovery worker who discovers a new meaning for normal, the fireman's daughter who knew that her dad who perished in the line of duty wouldn't have wanted it any other way. On the 10th anniversary of the attacks, host Audie Cornish checks in with StoryCorps families to find out how they make their way today.”1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Our 9/11: Growing Up in The Aftermath“WNYC's Radio Rookies and PRX, in partnership with the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, looks at the 9/11 attacks through the eyes of young people who were just kids when the towers fell: a girl whose dad never returned from police duty, two families ripped apart by trauma, a Muslim girl who coped with the angry reaction to her faith, and a young man who has helped one community remember. Hosted by On the Media's Brooke Gladstone.”2:00 PM – 3:00: The Sonic Memorial Project“On the 10th Anniversary of 9/11, we re-visit The Sonic Memorial Project, which commemorates the life and history of the World Trade Center and the people who passed through its doors. A collaboration between The Kitchen Sisters Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva, PRX, NPR, independent producers, and stations and listeners nationwide, the project was created with audio artifacts, rare recordings, and the input of thousands of people who called in with their personal stories.”3:00 PM: Bob Edwards Weekend Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times joins Bob to talk about 9/11, then and now. Shortly after the terror attacks of September 11th, 2001 writer Joan Murray read her poem, “Survivors Found,” on NPR’s Morning Edition, the program Bob hosted at the time. Ten years later, she’s back to reflect on that poem, and how it helped people heal from the tragedy.4:00 PM: This American LifeTEN YEARS IN: In this show, we return to people who've been on This American Life in the last ten years, whose lives were drastically altered by 9/11, including Hyder Akbar, an Afghan-American teen who moved to Afghanistan after his father was tapped to become governor of Kunar province there; Marian Fontana, whose husband Dave was a fireman who died in the Twin Towers; and Lynn Simpson, who escaped from the 89th floor and made it out of the World Trade Center with about a minute to spare.6:00 PM: NPR Special CoverageNPR will offer live, anchored coverage of A Concert for Hope, which will be held at The Kennedy Center at 8pm ET. President Obama will speak during the concert, which will also feature performances by Patti Labelle, Alan Jackson and Denyce Graves.

9/11: Colorado's Memorials

After the twin towers fell and recovery operations progressed, the New York and New Jersey Port Authoritybegan storing tons of rusted steel beams from the World Trade Center. After considering thousands of applications for the steel, the Port Authority began shipping the modern artifacts across the country this year—including 15 pieces to Colorado.

These objects—both large and small—are now being transformed into 9/11 memorials.

More than half of Colorado’s Trade Center steel was shipped to fire protection districts across the state.  Louisville Deputy Chief Michael Schick says his 116 pound piece of history arrived weeks ago from a UPS deliveryman. Like other recipients, he doesn’t know the details about its previous existence.

“All we know is the size, weight and it does have an id number,” he says. “And you can see some of the marks on it and obvious twist that’s there.”

The steel is three feet by two feet, a size Schick says is “perfect” for Louisville’s memorial to the firefighters and paramedics who died on 9/11—343 total. The twisted, rusted steel will be incorporated into the wall of a redesigned training room. The theme will be “never forget.” And Schick says that’s an important message for all firefighters to keep in mind.

“Hopefully this is another reminder that what we do is dangerous, but we have to work at it to make sure we’re as safe as possible,” he says.

But decades ago, Americans weren’t so quick to memorialize tragic events like terrorist attacks. That’s according to Ken Foote, a Geography professor at the University of Colorado Boulder who studies memorials.

 “If we were to go back a few decades or century, it would have been very unusual to commemorate something like this,” he says.

Foote says it took decades after the bombing of Pearl Harbor for monuments to appear. That’s because many saw the event as an emblem of America’s failures in WWII. Contrast that with the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, after which people immediately began planning for a memorial space.

“I think there are gradual changes in people’s attitudes. There’s a greater willingness to see these events as part of our way of life—that it’s not that exceptional,” he says.

That means more memorials are being set up across the country. And that translates into more local interpretations of national events.

Up the road in Windsor, Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Dykstra moves his 75-pound piece of steel on a piece of beige carpet.

“It’s kind of an interesting piece because on top plate it has concrete and steel pins, so it’s not just a hunk of steel,” he says.

He’s in the Windsor-Severance Fire Museum, which will be the object’s long-term home. But Dykstra and other Windsor officials have plans to make this 9/11 artifact even more portable—mounting it on a steel platform with wheels.

“We actually meant for it to be an opportunity to take it… to the other fire stations, as well as other public education events that are going on throughout the city,” he says.

While the memorials across Colorado today are different, one thing that all locations can count on, according to CU Professor Ken Foote, is that the memory of what 9/11 means will change over time.

Pearl Harbor launched America’s involvement in WWII, which ended three-and-a-half years later. But questions tied to 9/11 haven’t been resolved yet.

“There’s this disagreement: Was it useful to invade Iraq or Afghanistan? Is the world safer now than it was 10 years ago? Because many of those questions are still unanswered, I think some of this debate will continue on for a long, long time,” he says.

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