The inspiration for the design of the 9.11 Memorial came from our experience at the World Trade Center from 9.11.2001 to 9.18.2001. Our team had a forward Base of Operation known as a BoO, on Church St. in Manhattan, NY just in front of and between WTC buildings 4 & 5. The 9.11 Memorial is depressed into the ground, and as many at home got used to the term “Ground Zero,” the rescue workers referred to the area as the “pit,” because when you went to search you went down into it. Our “pit” is encompassed with walls; the WTC site with debris. From our view on Church St, there was a bronze sculpture, known as The Sphere, which was located in the center of the former plaza at WTC. The Sphere was a work of art by sculptor Fritz Koenig, and was meant to symbolize world peace through world trade. For us at MA-TF1 and the rescue group working out of Church St., it was the focal point for our searches. The North Tower of the WTC was directly behind the sphere. From where we stood, to the North Tower, was our search area. We used The Sphere as the center of a clock. The North Tower became 12 o’clock and where our BoO was, became 6 o’clock. We started our searches at 6 o’clock and worked in a counter-clockwise rotation, due to some nasty green smoke which was covering much of the area to the left side of The Sphere. So if a team radioed to me and said they were 6 stories down at 3 o’clock, I would know their location.
