Subdued 9/11 remembrances reflect Boston's invisible scars

BOSTON – Tucked successful a grove of ginkgo trees, a solid cube astatine Logan International Airport pays tribute to those mislaid aboard the 2 jetliners that took disconnected from Boston and were hijacked by terrorists who flew them into the World Trade Center towers.

But it’s mostly soundless homage. The memorial etched with the names of those who perished aboard American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 draws fewer visitors. And the airport’s different nods to its relation successful the calamity — American flags that alert supra the jetways astatine the gates wherever the flights departed — spell mostly unnoticed and unremarked.

It’s reflective of the city’s uneasy ties to the transcendent events of Sept. 11, 2001.

“It inactive feels surreal successful a way, due to the fact that it was conscionable horrifying beyond anyone’s quality to grasp,” said Virginia Buckingham, who was CEO of the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates Logan, connected 9/11.

Five terrorists smuggled container cutters aboard American Flight 11 astatine Logan. Five others did the aforesaid with United Flight 175 astatine different terminal. “None of the checkpoint supervisors recalled the hijackers oregon reported thing suspicious regarding their screening,” the government’s 9/11 Commission said successful its report.

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On the time of the attacks, Buckingham was preparing to alert to Washington to conscionable with the Federal Aviation Administration astir a caller runway astatine Logan erstwhile she got a six-word connection that inactive chills her: “Two planes are disconnected the radar.”

Six weeks aft the attacks, then-Gov. Jane Swift pushed Buckingham to resign. Buckingham, who wrote a haunting 2020 memoir, “On My Watch,” said it each astir broke her — and she’s lone precocious travel astir to the thought that it wasn't her fault.

“I person PTSD, some from the trauma of seeing what unfolded similar each of america had to, but besides being blamed for it caused unspeakable trauma, atrocious dreams, depression,” she said. “I was held personally accountable for the deaths of thousands ... It’s been a agelong roadworthy back, and it’s thing compared to what the families person gone through.”

Underscoring Boston's uneasy attempts to region itself from its relation successful the attacks, subdued 20th day remembrances are planned astatine the airdrome connected Saturday, Sept. 11.

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Massport spokesperson Jennifer Mehigan said thing is planned isolated from the accustomed TSA grant guards stationed astatine the airport's main checkpoints successful the morning. American and United volition person backstage ceremonies.

The bureau was thrust into exhaustive ineligible battles aft the developer of the World Trade Center sued it, American and United, claiming porous information astatine Logan yet was to blasted for the toppling of the towers. It didn't extremity until 2017, erstwhile insurers for the 2 airlines agreed to wage $95 cardinal to World Trade Center Properties to adjacent the case.

Massport, besides named arsenic a suspect successful dozens of wrongful decease lawsuits brought by families of 9/11 victims, maintained it had nary ineligible work for the attacks due to the fact that it didn't power information checkpoints. Ultimately, a national justice agreed.

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Twenty years on, determination is small to suggest that Boston has genuinely travel to presumption with its supporting relation successful the attacks.

Although a monument to victims successful Boston Public Garden gets traffic, dozens of the 2,997 memorial flags planted determination up of Saturday's day were uprooted by vandals overnight.

Logan's atmospheric memorial, meanwhile, is seldom visited. On a caller weekday visit, an Associated Press lensman saw lone 2 radical participate the cube during a three-hour stay. That's successful crisp opposition to the often crowded memorial downtown to victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, which killed 3 spectators, wounded much than 260 others and spawned the slogan “Boston Strong.”

“I'm struck by the amnesia that’s acceptable in,” said James Carroll, a erstwhile clergyman and retired Boston Globe columnist. “All we're near with is the mythology of 9/11. I would person expected amended of Boston.”

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As the 20th day approaches, the astir poignant Boston-centric commemoration is simply a one-man operation. Retired formation attendant Paul Veneto, 62, a regular connected United Flight 175's Boston to Los Angeles way who had taken 9/11 off, is pushing an hose beverage cart from Boston to New York City to grant the pilots and chap unit members who died successful the attacks.

“I turned my beingness astir to beryllium capable to admit these guys who were ne'er recognized,” said the Braintree, Massachusetts, resident, whose survivor's guilt triggered a 15-year medicine cause addiction.

Buckingham likens her ain beingness to a portion of oversea glass.

“It's been breached isolated and is thing similar it utilized to be. But that doesn’t mean it’s not beautiful, doesn’t mean it’s not valuable,” she said. “If you spell done thing very, precise painful, you’re going to transportation that symptom with you. You’re going to beryllium changed forever.”

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Follow AP New England exertion Bill Kole connected Twitter astatine https://twitter.com/billkole.

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For much AP sum of the 9/11 day from New York and astir the globe, sojourn our hub astatine https://apnews.com/hub/9-11-a-world-changed.

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