John DiGiovanni, 45 years old, was a dental sales representative who was parking his car in the garage to visit a client that day.  Wilfredo Mercado, 37, was a purchasing agent for Windows on the World, and was checking on the day's deliveries on basement level 2.  Robert Kirkpatrick, 61, Stephen Knapp, 47, and William Macko, 57, were mechanical and maintenance supervisors for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and were eating lunch together in an office on B-2.  Monica Smith, 35 and seven months pregnant, was a secretary for the mechanical unit of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and was reviewing timesheets in her office next door. 

Twenty years ago, at 12:18pm on February 26, 1993, radical Islamic terrorists attempted to destroy the World Trade Center by detonating a 1,500-pound nitrate bomb in the complex's basement. Smoke rose through both towers and filled the stairwells, making evacuation arduous. Nearly 1,000 people were injured from smoke inhalation. It took nearly 10 hours to evacuate terrified people from the towers, including school children visiting the observation deck atop 2 WTC.

A memorial fountain was dedicated to the victims and installed on the World Trade Center's Austin Tobin Plaza in 1995. The memorial was destroyed in the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. The names of the February 26, 1993, victims can be found on Panel N-73 of the 9/11 Memorial.

Join the 9/11 Tribute Center on April 21, 2013 to support the 9/11 Memorial 5K Run/Walk and Family Day to raise awareness about the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and to encourage volunteerism. All funds raised support the 9/11 Memorial and 9/11 Memorial Museum. April 21 - marks the anniversary President Barack Obama signed into law legislation making 9/11 a day of service and volunteerism in the memory of the victims of the 2001 attacks.  

Register today at www.911memorial.org

Former United States Army staff sergeant Romesha, recieved the Medal of Honor for expemplary actions during the Battle of Kamdesh in 2009 during the War in Afghanistan.

Romesha joined the U.S. Army in 1999, and was posted at various times to Germany, South Korea and Colorado. Trained as an M1 Abrams tank crewman, Romesha had seen four deployments, including to Kosovo, twice in Iraq, and Afghanistan. On October 3, 2009, he was deployed to Combat Outpost Keating in eastern Afghanistan. There, a force of 300 Taliban insurgents attacked the base. Romesha rallied his comrades and led a counterattack, directing close air support and providing suppressive fire to help the wounded to an aid station. Romesha continued to fight throughout the 12-hour battle despite being wounded.

Romesha retired from the U.S. Army in 2011.

Romesha received the Medal of Honor from President Obama in an award ceremony at the White House on February 11, 2013. He is the fourth living Medal of Honor recipient for the War in Afghanistan, following Salvatore Giunta, Leroy Petry, and Dakota Meyer, and the eleventh Medal of Honor recipient from the War in Afghanistan.

Become a 9/11 Tribute Center Volunteer Guide at the 9/11 Memorial.

Sharing your September 11th story would be a meaningful way to help others understand, remember and recover. Tribute volunteers, who all come from the 9/11 community, are the official guides for the 9/11 Memorial. Our volunteer guides - first responders, survivors, family members, area residents and civilian volunteers - connect visitors from across the country and around the world to the meaning of the Memorial and humanity of the tragedy in deeply powerful ways. Their personal stories give voice to those who no longer have a voice, honor the memories of all who perished and recognize those who risked their lives to came to aid of people in need. While tours follow a general format, the experience, insight and perspective of the volunteer makes each tour very unique.

Volunteers join a welcoming network and are invited to attend free monthly programs at the Tribute Center. Most recently, Tribute offered a storytelling workshop for volunteers hosted by instructors from The Moth, the acclaimed not-for-profit organization dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. Volunteers worked in small groups with Moth instructors, and the evening concluded with a few people presenting their stories in front of the group. Tonya Channell, a 9/11 survivor and one of Tribute's newest volunteers, was one of them. She was stepping on to the Brooklyn Bridge as the towers fell. When she told everyone about her walk home to Brooklyn that day, and how she was cheered on through the neighborhoods, Tonya felt the "compassion and camaraderie" in the room. She said telling her story was "like a hug."  At both workshops and on tours, volunteers like Tonya report that sharing their stories is more rewarding, more healing than they ever could have imagined. 

The next volunteer training workshop is scheduled for: Friday, March 8th: 6 - 9:30 pm and Saturday, March, 9th, 9:00 - 4:30 pm.  

For more info, please contact: Nancy Gamerman: ngamerman@tributewtc.org or 212-422-3520 x112