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A Virtual Sea of Candles: Reflecting on September 11th, 2001, One Day Later

A look back at the candlelight vigil held on the Mall one day after the tragic events of September 11th. Read my reflections on the solemn event and see a photo of the virtual sea of candles that lined the Mall.
Vice Pres. Coolidge and House Speaker Gillett exercising in House gym. Jan. 31, 1923 (Library of Congress)
Aerial view from the Washington Monument showing the "Tempos" or temporary buildings before their demolition. They were located on the site of the future National Museum of History and Technology (NMHT), now the National Museum of American History (NMAH)

I remember this so vividly. I walked the length of the Mall, stood on the west front steps of the Capitol (which you can no longer do) and stared out onto a virtual sea of candles flickering on the Mall. This photo is a good representation of what I saw that night on September 12th, the day after the tragic events in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. I wrote another post about this some time ago.

Thousands of people take part in a candlelight vigil on the National Mall in Washington D.C. September 12, 2001. (Photo: Reuters/Win McNamee/Newscom)
Thousands of people take part in a candlelight vigil on the Mall, in Washington D.C. September 12, 2001, in memory of the victims of the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington D.C. The United States vowed on Wednesday to strike back for the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, described across an angry nation as “an act of war” committed by an enemy whose name it doesn’t even know. REUTERS/Win McNamee

Source: The Daily Signal

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