Richard Drew on photographing the "Falling Man" of 9/11
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ก.ย. 2021
- For veteran photojournalist Richard Drew, getting an important photograph is about recording history. One of the Pulitzer Prize-winner's most famous images is of a figure falling from the World Trade Center's Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. He tells correspondent John Dickerson that viewers identify with it because they think, "That could be me."
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I get so angry when some ignorant people say those victims committed suicide by jumping. No, no they didn't. They had a choice to suffocate, burn or jump. Which is not even a choice someone should ever have to make. They were murdered just like all of the other victims that day
Very well said! It's always amazing how people never placed in such a position have so much to say
Very well said my friend 👏! They were victims of homicide!
Here here! I'm in total agreement with you! Their lives were taken, just as much as anyone on that day.
It’s literally forced suicide. I’m in full agreeance that these people were murdered. But definitions don’t change because of circumstances.
I agree
I hope people realize that the falling man was a person, a person who wasn't destined to die that day but was forced to die that day, remember in the end that was a person, a living person
Really? I thought it was sex doll
Funny @@PHXNKVHXLIC
@@PHXNKVHXLICYour sarcasm is misplaced.
@@gogreen7794 sarcasm is never misplaced
@@PHXNKVHXLIC Genuinely not the place for stupid jokes dude..."read the room" as they say
I listened to a firefighter talk about the sound of the bodies hitting the floor all around him and how it was loud and so many of them it was like rain falling and you could tell he is still traumatised by it, so awful, I’m glad this man took this picture it’s harrowing but it’s important that people see horror and never forget history like this
I seen a video and you see and hear the sounds of the bodies hitting the ground horrible
@@chuckberry1240 Is the video on youtube?
I was beginning my sophomore year of college when 9/11 happened..... and I too remember hearing that as well. I remember the photos of people jumping ...God bless the victims families ....we can't forget. This country needs to go back to God ASAP... only He can help us. God bless these peoples families and America.
The head first concrete hits from height are quite disturbing, and sound like gun shots. The photo was well done to capture the moment, but I wouldn't personally display it anywhere other than a newspaper.
@@Snow-xd4rv it was on TikTok but it was a American news segment and I learned the firefighter had a disabled child who has sadly now passed away and he needed help with money to try and save him but the government wouldn’t help him 😥
For anyone interested to know. That was Jonathan Briley who was an AV Technician who worked at Windows on the world. Anyone who knew Jon can identify him by his shoes, hair style, shirt and lanky body.
He was a great fellow! I have this image in one of my buildings as we dedicated it in Jon’s
memory.
Jesus. One of Us. (I'm a stagehand/AV tech)
@@robforrester3727 yes one of us…
Thank you! Bcse i read an article around 9/11 this month and i was praying there was a name to attach to the gentleman that courageously chose his fate! My heart goes out to him and his family❤. I was supposed to go to the World Trade Center that day and unconsciously went to newark, nj (work at blue cross) and see it as Devine intervention. May Johnathan RIP. ❤❤❤
Thank you for sharing @avdavey 🙏🏽💜.
I remember reading that his brother was one of the members of the Village People. May he rest in peace.
The reason this image is so impactful is because it shows the human element of the tradgedy. Watching buildings collapse is shocking, but it doesn't connect you to what the people went through inside the towers that day and the unbearable decisions they had to make. This photograph does that.
bless their souls
Great comment. I'm still shocked and humbled everytime I look at it......even today, 20 yrs later 😪
What does that even mean human element of tragedy?
Wrong! As he said, it’s a shutter shot which means there 100 photos of this same man falling the photographer chose the most compelling as his posture represents STRENGTH & BRAVERY to fall with PRIDE, almost with the posture of a super hero! It’s these elements that make it a compelling photo.
'...the _tragedy_ .'
Well said, just heartbreaking 💔
What a sad choice those people had to make. It still breaks my heart. This journalist is very honest, and brilliant.
Yes! I really like him.
He's decisive and objective about it. That's what gave him the edge to do this job, no matter how difficult it became.
Not sure they had a choice.
911 was an inside job .
His comment "That was her choice but not mine" made me want to throw him off the world trade centers.
Be a fricking human. I understand wanting to record history, but him saying that is no different than Jake Paul filming a body for views. (After his wife told them to stop)
I respect this guys principles. No matter how shocking and tragic a moment in history is, it NEEDS to documented.
Too bad it was profited from as well.
@@pgarciaAP "Too bad it was profited from as well." Why is that relevant? Why is it bad if someone got paid for their work?
I would respect his principles if it weren’t for the Kennedy pictures. In that case, he’s adding to the tragedy in a place where one would reasonably expect privacy. He’s distressing an already distressed wife to bring himself fame. He pretends it’s some kind of moral imperative, but he didn’t do anything that day besides invade privacy to further his career.
@@pgarciaAP There’s nothing wrong with getting paid for your work.
@@joeyoest1105 I disagree. It was a public event and they had ever right to take pictures. Regardless of how the wife may have felt at the time, I don’t blame her, but the photographers are the least of her problems.
When I look at this photo all I can think is that this human being did not leave his home even considering having to make a decision anything remotely close to what he had to make. Life is unpredictable but we truly have no idea just how unpredictable it can be. It brings tears to my eyes even now.
None of them did. They woke up that morning to go to work, like many other hundreds of mornings before that, without knowing they'd be committing suicide a few hours later. It really is depressing.
@@EminAnimE1Not suicide, it’s like having to choose how you’re murdered
@@LambdaMiscellaneous All suicides are murders. Everyone of them has something in their lives that killed them.
Going into a friggin 110-storey building might make you think of "what if..." scenarios. At least it should.
Man, that guy that recognized his fiancé as one of the jumpers…just…OMG 😞💔
Right???
She was trying to protect her head. She had hope.
@@Psychol-Snooper 💔💔💔
So sad… I’ll never forget that day 🥺😭 also in a side note nice profile pic, I love rush. 👌
Dear god, it’s so awful to think about those poor people.
I cannot image having to make a choice to either burn to death or fall to your death. The pain i feel for these people will never go away. Seeing it hits to the core of feeling your mortality and how it will never not be shocking and unimaginable anger how this could happen to these souls in America on our soil. I will always cry when i watch 9/11 footage. Every year i honor those lost and 20 years later watching it still feels like that day it happened. 2,977 should have never lost their lives that day.
I remember seeing the firemen in the lobby of One WTC & hearing the booms & them flinching. Then saying "jumpers" still gives me chills. One turned to the camera & said can you imagine how bad it is up there that the alternative is to jump? And they went up anyway 🙏🏻
@@samanthab1923 i remember seeing that too. All those loud crashes the firemen said were people jumping. It truly is so heart breaking. Those poor people having to go through such horror. May they all R.I.P.
Your simple TH-cam comment made me shed a tear. So very well said.
🙏🙏🙏
For the guy to photograph the horrific death of another human being, AND MAKE MONEY FROM IT, is disrespectful and disgusting. I hope his reputation was destroyed by his unethical lack of integrity and compassion. Imagine if that had been your loved one falling to his death, and this POS was capitalizing on the image?
6:46 imagine seeing a picture of your loved one, the person you are going to marry, falling to their death. It makes me tear up knowing this and so sad that, that person died in that horrible way. It must have been gut wrenching to the guy who saw his fiancé in a photo like this but slightly relieved in a small sense knowing she isn’t unaccounted for and still wondering what became of her that day. I hope he ended up with something to bury, even ever so small as a means of being able to move on with his life.
It’s interesting how emotional Richard is when he speaks about his daughter, but how cold and detached he is when shooting his photos of death and destruction.
I thought the same.
He has to be able to distance himself to do his job at this level. Not unlike doctors, police officers, military, etc.
@@josephbrowning2968
I mean it's his job, the camera acts as a filter as much as a tool, would you say the same about EMT's or firefighters? They don't break down at the scene either since it would impede them from doing their jobs.
Everyone deals with things in different ways. I know for alot of people its easy to be detached since its an unknown face. A story you never knew. You can't get invested without the details. Meanwhile his daughter is a crucial part of his legacy...his family. Its a personal relationship built over a lifetime...and those things are rare
This guy has been at the most tragic and happiest events and has captured most of them. The “falling Man” is haunting and unsettling. Still saddens me to this day.
And that's just one picture,while in Britain they were broadcasting live multiple people jumping, other being pulled out of the building by wind and being thrown out of the building by backdrafts
@@TheGingerburger omg I never even considered that happening thats terrible
@@TheGingerburger Most channels did that. It was live, hard to cut away immediately. But most channels chose to never broadcast those videos again.
He made big money off it by selling blown up prints to Elton John who displays it as art as though it's a collectors piece. That's despicable.
@@user-zy3zd3sx2d what are you saying?
No matter how many years have passed, I still cry when this terrible day arrives every year.
when i watch a movie and the WTC are in a scene it bites my being? it hurts it wounds it makes no sense it makes tears......i didnt know any of the Victims so? BUT IT HURTS IT HURTS
It's called a psyop, they traumatize you then feed you their narrative. COVID, they scared you, then gave you the solution to the problem they created. Heigalian Dialect, problem reaction solution, they create the problem, you react, they give you a solution. Put people on psychotic meds, they go and shoot a place up, then they tell you the solution is to give up your rights to defend. Sound familiar.
I was only 16 when it happened and it haunts me till this day. I watched live when the second plane crashed and that imagine still scares me and I don’t think I will ever forget that day. Recently a took a group of students to a museum where they had a small memorial and all the kids were whatever, but for me, it still triggered this utter sadness and fear, just like it did when it happened.
@@user-rw2dr5my1s That's exactly what it was supposed to do. Just like the NASA Challenger explosion, the JFK Assassination. All these events for each generation. It's part of trauma based MK ULTRA.
Did the windows high up I'm the tower open ? What window did they jump out of ? Do sky scraper windows ever open up that high ?
This brings back the grief of that day... I'll never forget the sound of people landing. It was so painful to know they had to make an impossible choice. And for every individual, there were all the family and friends who had to go on without their loved ones. It was heartbreaking.
Im so sorry you were there. We were with you in spirit. Every American’s heart broke for the people of NYC, Shanksville, and at our Pentagon watching or listening that day.
We cried for you all. We will never forget the brave souls who went into those buildings to rescue others, only to lose their lives.
We will NEVER forget!
They hit so hard they disintegrate. Nothing left.
@@alabamajenny8751I clicked on his profile and it said in another comment he was in Colorado on vacation at the time.He’s disgusting for saying he was there especially because of the people who actually did here those folk jump
You literally say in another comment you were in Colorado so how could you have heard all those bodies ?Thats disgusting making up all that billshit
Liar
If you pay attention to the falling man, in one of his photos you can see his arms look burned. It’s heartbreaking 💔 to know many had to make that decision, I heard them have the impact when they fell on the fire fighters video of 9/11, the look in their eyes at eachother knowing what that sound was every time, and back to back. I’m glad the man who saw his fiancé in the photo has closure through it. May god rest their souls.
To the people who think otherwise, the news channels absolutely did show people falling from the towers on live TV - I know that to be true because I was watching it live on TV as it was happening.
I was a senior in high school, near Nashville, Tennessee, and about 10 minutes after 1st period began, the vice principal came over the intercom and announced that something terrible was happening in New York and that teachers might want to turn their classroom TV's on the news.
Right after he made that announcement, our teacher turned the TV in our classroom on, and we couldn't believe what we were seeing. Everyone in the room was shocked and we all fell silent. I remember the news channel we were watching was showing a close up shot of the top part of one of the towers, close enough that you could see there were a lot of people hanging out of the broken windows trying to escape the smoke and flames. I could see a few people frantically waiving something like a white cloth or maybe a shirt back and forth in a desperate plea for help...that is when I saw the first person falling out of a window to their death. I will never forget the horrible, sickening feeling that came over me the moment I realized that I was watching people die on live TV. It was and still is the most disturbing, upsetting and frightening thing I have ever seen in my life.
I tried to imagine what they must have been feeling as they were falling, what they must have been thinking knowing they were about to die in just a few seconds.
Seeing those poor people falling, one or sometimes two at a time, made me feel incredibly guilty and ashamed for witnessing their last moments alive. It just felt so voyeuristic and wrong to be watching these people die such an atrocious public death, but even though I wanted to, I couldn't look away.
Just as 1st period was about to end, the South Tower collapsed, which we saw happen on live TV as well. The NBC news channel we were watching in Nashville, Tennessee had a live video feed of thick black smoke coming from the Pentagon on the right side of the screen (we didn't have a clue what had happened there yet) and on the left side of the TV screen was the live video of what was happening in New York. I remember our teacher telling us we were witnessing an unprecedented historical event that morning, and that life as we had known it would probably never be the same.
To this day in 2022, 21 years after it happened, I still remember that day like it was yesterday, even though I have tried my best over the years to forget it. 😞
I hear ya pal.
Never forget it. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Same exact recollection of this in my high school class.
I have a sinking feeling that anyone who watched the towers burn then collapse and the multitudinous events occurring simultaneously.. none will ever forget it. Both of our sons are nearly 30 now (the eldest was in 1st & younger in kindergarten) and thankfully they don't have memories of that tragic day like many of us do, but they've told me they have sensed the world was drastically altered.
@@St.Linguini_of_Pesto The worse tragedy of it all is that the majority of Americans are naïve to the fact that the buildings were brought down with explosives and people in our administration let it happen and likely played a big hand in it. THIS is the biggest tragedy of it all. The victims continue to be victims till this very minute. They were betrayed by their own. America, in its essence.
Honestly the amount of courage it must've took to just jump out,knowing full well no-ones down there to save you,and that you just won't make it. That is something that I could never physically/mentally achieve.
They were unconscious they were standing next to the window trying to get air trying to get away from the heat and they fell off
@Oak Tree and @rosa montoya ... no they were not unconscious, Rosa. I saw an interview with a firefighter who said that when a fire is at your back and you have no where else to go but jump, every one of us will jump every time.
@@RubyBandUSA i believe this.. people couldn’t understand how they would jump but that much fire that much smoke it had to be unbearable
@@rosamontoya9154 Not all, some were wavy their arms as if to get their balance. They knew they were jumping to their death rather than burn alive.
@@rosamontoya9154
Actually, I imagine, as their skin was boiling with blisters, slipping off their bodies onto the floor, the immense PAIN, and being unable to breathe...most would jump under those horrifying circumstances, either that, or inhaling as much toxic smoke as fast as they could.
I visited NYC back in 2015. I was only three days there but really loved the city. I will never forget visiting the 9/11 memorial. It feels so strange to be in a place where something so tragic happened and so many innocent lives were lost. Despite being in the middle of a busy city, the whole place was silent. Rest In Peace to all the victims.
The room with the phone calls is what I remember. I was there around the same time as you. Hearing those people call their loved ones while on the plane brought out an emotion I didnt know I had.
@@Spookehh That must be in the museum right? I only visited the plaza, sadly I didn't have much time, but when I return (and I surely will) I will make sure to visit the museum too. But yeah I've listened to some of those phone calls on yt and they just feel gut-wrenching. I just can't imagne what all those innocent people went through.
@@Spookehhnot to take away from what’s there. But many of those calls couldn’t have been made on the plane at the heights they were at and the speed they were traveling.. it’s something I’m still researching.
But I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy theorist
@@Wretched2JZthen stop sounding like one. I'm sure the family or person answering the phone would disagree with you.
@Wretched2JZ you definitely sound like one. They weren't that high up. They're not faking these harrowing phone calls. Tell that to the families they're talking to.
Excellent piece! Thank you. Drew comes off respectful, yet duty bound. Elton John said it perfectly, along the lines of, “it’s the most beautiful photograph of something so tragic”. My sympathy & prayers are with those who suffered that day or because of it. History must be documented-warts and all. My reverent gratitude to those who experience the more newsworthy events, becoming subjects & to those poetically documenting it.
Nah there is something disturbing about the way Elton just HAD to have that photo to sit in his little gallery. That is someones loved one, celebrities are disgusting
Elton wants it do to it’s ritualistic symbology. The man falling is making the same pose as “the hanged man” tarot card.
he's sick
I think if he had said poignant as opposed to beautiful a lot of people would have been less creeped out
They didn't fall... They jumped, because they knew there was no way out. I'll never forget seeing it live on TV that morning. Absolutely Heartbreaking.
I remember……..
Some of them did fall, though. Not all of them knowingly jumped. Either way, it is extremely tragic..
People jumped yes some may have fell regardless they were brave souls
If I’m not mistaken the coroner said something like they didn’t jump, they didn’t fall they were forced out.
Yes. They chose their death. Instead of what the cowards wanted.
Even though they chose to jump, God would never judge them for it.
For a few seconds of terror, their end will always make us remember them.
Can you imagine the pit in that mans stomach when he recognized his fiancé? I mean truly I cannot imagine how I would’ve felt if I laid eyes on my husband mid air that way. Wow.
If you search for the documentary "Falling Man," they interview him. His name is Richard Pecorella, and his fiancee was Karen Juday. He said in the documentary it wasn't painful for him to see those photos - that losing her was already the most painful thing, so anything after that wasn't as painful. I still can't imagine being in his shoes, but I'm glad for him that he has some closure.
@@ctopanga14: I can understand him saying that. At least now he “knew”what had happened to her. There are still bodies that have never been identified because there is not enough DNA evidence left, even today, after 20 years. People just disappeared on that day. At least after seeing the picture, he “knew”.
@@ebriggs3498 yes, closure for sure.
@@ctopanga14 and Elton John paid almost a quarter million dollars for the photograph and NONE OF THE MONEY went to ANY of the FAMILYS!?
@@ebriggs3498 Maybe he figured, at least she went quickly.
The "falling man" took control of his life at that time.
I still become emotional hearing these stories. As an airline employee of 18 years at the time, it was/is the most surreal day of my life. This is an excellent interview. God rest the souls of all the unsuspecting people who died, survived, and saw that day.
Being there....was horrific. Walking from Manhattan to Queens across the bridge and people standing along the street passing out water to those of us who lived on long Island is the picture I try to remember. My husband covered in a tan grey dust when he finally made it home was a vision I remember.
Resting my eyes on my newborn twins when I finally reached home is a picture id like to remember. This was the darkest day (month really) in my entire life.
Where were you when they got hit/fell?
I'm glad both you and your husband made it home to your babies
Pretty Face
@@Elizabeth77536 it’s the “lol” for me. Hardly funny. Regardless of where she’s walking she was simply asking a question and it’s up to Bella if she wants to reply or not! Blondie meant where were you when the buildings got hit or came down, she said absolutely nothing about asking where she was when people jumped.
No need for negativity! I never ever comment but damn
please don’t get offended that i ask this but is your husband still alive today? i’ve heard the death toll of survivors on ground zero is greater than the death toll of the attack itself because of the toxic asbestos dust they were all breathing in caused cancer
@yungZ you offended her somehow 🤦♂️
Sometimes the fate of someone is to record history in all its glory, sorrow, and ugliness. I am impressed by his humility and professionalism.
Perfectly said, thank you
He is the epitome of what a journalist should be, no agenda or ideology or narrative to push.
@@StreamNewYork as long as he was a photographer, the camera can become a filter that makes what is being pictured seem unreal, distant and the photographer removed from reality. The same is true for movie cameras. It’s a desensitization process. You’re right, you probably couldn’t do that as who you are now, after decades of being numbed to what’s on the other side of the lens however, it might be a different experience.
True indeed.
I'm not because he SOLD the man falling to his death to Elton John, calling it beautiful.
To capture someone's moment of horror and then want to hang it on the wall like decor is unimaginable to me. Such a tragic day in history. So many lost.
I couldn't look at that picture day after day
I actually find that disrespectful. Especially to that poor man's family.
Elton John is a very sick and twisted man
@@dynaztycrashdiet I found it very disrespectful too.
he’s not even american either
This day cannot be forgotten. Its so heart wrenching to think of the pain, the terror, the helplessness people went through.
I think the two people who jumped together, holding hands, was much more powerful. It's weird that one didn't get the news. To jump with someone and trying to stay together is unbelievable
This comment 😢 ❤
@@bobbydarker1959 Yeah. That comment made me tear up. 🥺
I’ve never seen that picture before. Sounds beautifully tragic
It didn’t get the news because it is a composite of 2 separate shots from the same photographer, they both fell alone.
@@artykillen9251 how do two people holding hands fall alone?
The most traumatic part for me was watching the people falling from the buildings knowing they made that choice to not burn to death just breaks my heart for them and for their family members.
I really can't fathom that choice, I just can't. Just watching those poor people leaning out of their windows, with smoke billowing out, waiting for some miraculous rescue, that never came. Because of the human mind in survival mode, I wonder if some of those who jumped had some hope, that there was still someway to survive the fall. I've also wondered how conscious these people were as they were falling. I listened to some expert who supposedly knew the answer, and he said they were in fact totally conscious, and falling from the height wouldn't make them pass out or anything. One of the most traumatic things to me (and I hate even mentioning it) was the bystander's who heard the bodies hit the cement, and the sound that made. No more to say about that....I just can't imagine
@@timgreen1835the horror you describe are the exact thoughts I have about that day . I was 12 and witnessed much of it live on tv. To this day , I’m extremely afraid of heights and will never work in any building so high I couldn’t jump and survive . May they RIP 💛🙏🏽
I would have jumped honestly. Burning slowly hurts way worse and your dead regardless
“I can’t imagine how bad things are up there that the better option is to jump” -fireman
This image shows acceptance. Of his fate and the lone experience it is. My heart goes out to all those who had to make this tumultuous decision.
21 years later, tears still in my eyes.
Never forget.
cry baby
That day made me cry for years, but then again I wear my crybaby status proudly as a badge of honor. It means I can still feel and love no matter what I've lived through. ❤️
@@f.frederickskitty2910 it was no doubt a sad day for many.. Do you believe the mainstream narrative which is, "they(some guys in a cave) were jealous of our freedom?"
@@brettlinthicum6649 "cry baby"
@@brettlinthicum6649 get a 9mm forehead piercing, cupcake
All these years it’s still so raw
Isn't it? I still Well up when I hear first responders radio excerpts of jumpers.
I was working in midtown that day and saw the buildings collapse. If I live to be 100 I don't think I would ever forget that day. It started as a an ordinary routine day I came to my cubicle at work with a cup of coffee in my hand. I put the coffee on my desk and was about to pull out my chair when my phone rang. That phone call was cutoff point from a normal day to utter chaos and ultimate tragedy. .
Mhm
The images of people jumping from the towers are probably the most disturbing images of that awful day. It's despairing what humans are capable of doing to other humans and animals. Hope the souls of all those murdered on that day and those affected for years afterwards can find peace and solace.
@Hello there, how are you doing this blessed day?
Everything that happened that day was tragic but those poor people jumping from the buildings was the worst. This man captured the absolute horror of Sept. 11. And those images will haunt me as long as I live. May all those who WERE MURDERED rest in peace.
I trained to be a newspaper reporter, but didn’t become one. Much respect to this man baring witness, and being a human being.
Not only that, but much respect for sticking to his role of photojournalist throughout his life. I love shooting street photography and the occasional news situation (I only shoot for myself. Throw those pictures online on IG...unfortunately it's tough nowadays to become a photojournalist). If i was in a situation where someone got shot just like he was with Robert Kennedy and that persons wife pleaded not to shoot pictures, I would hesitate and second guess it. But major credit to him for sticking to the assignment @02:38
Oh listen to the fairly new album how to be a human being by glass animals
@@hersh23 Now the situation with Kennedy did rub me the wrong way, though.. She was desperate and I feel like he shouldn’t have pressed on too much harder like that.. I would hope he at the very least stepped back to give the space that she was clearly needing, to try and be a bit more respectful while capturing the moment. Because otherwise, that’s where photojournalists can get a bit of a bad rep in being a bit too “aggressive”.
@bsanchez No?
@@Sandy33569agree. I could not help but think of those photographers who hounded Princess Diana in a car driven, albeit by someone who was intoxicated, in the tunnel in Paris which resulted in the crash that took three lives, and the photographers then took photos of her in the car. I know this man did not follow Robert Kennedy in the kitchen of that hotel where he was assassinated and just so happened to have the opportunity to take photos, but to take pictures of him lying on the floor dying and especially when Ethel in those awful moments put her hand up asking them to stop, I don’t know, that seems to cross the line somehow to me, anyway, of recording history.
I lost two of my best friends that day & a bit of faith in humanity. One friend worked at Windows. The other had gotten up early, gone to his friend's favorite diner in Philly to get her her favorite cinnamon rolls that she missed after moving for her new job at Cantor-Fitzgerald. He was in the building to do a kindness. He didn't even work there.💔💔
So sorry for your loss.
Sorry about your friends
So sorry about your friends!
Damn......just....Damn....
They aren’t forgotten
What I love about those photos is it shows the victims taking their morality into their OWN hands. I see a lot of bravery in those photos.
The jumpers will always be one of the most horrific part of learning about 9/11 in school.
I felt more heartbreak, and sadness seeing the jumping from the towers than actually seeing them collapsing, and knowing people were trapped inside also dying at that moment.😥🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🇺🇸
It might be an unpopular opinion, and many people may not like it, but I think it's so important that tragic things like this are documented with photos...lest we never forget and do better.
We never do better and we always forget. Remembrance day every year but war still ragesand the sad thing is, it will never change
@seanpittaway5341 That's a pessimistic outlook and one that only escalates more tragedy in a way a drinking alcoholic worsens their life.
The “ falling man” probably the hardest picture I have in a “ Remembrance book I have of 9-11” -it reminds me of the most horrible choice these poor people had to make that horrific day , do I jump or stay -it has a haunting way of reminding you in the most horrific way when the USA was attacked , 2 choices you were given , my heart still breaks for the people who had to make that horrific choice on 9-11-01 May all who lost their life’s RIP🥀
@@applesandgrapesfordinner4626 he's not wrong though, is he?
@@cynthiahusband106 agree.
Elton has a dark definition of perfection.
I agree.....that was someone’s son, or father, uncle, nephew etc., really we are morbid to a degree....I would not want to be reminded of someone falling to their death
I was kind of weirded out by his choice of words too. As much raw emotion it brings me to see the picture of the falling man, or anyone else who had suffered the same fate, I still wouldn't have blown the picture up as an 18"X24" and displayed it on my wall like he did either. He is a bit on the strange side.
Agree. For me that picture has negative energy. I wouldn't want it anywhere near me . . .
I think I understand Elton. Weird people exists.
How sick in the head can you be to want a large photo framed on your wall of some poor soul falling to his death but nothing surprises me about that guy.
I agree
I find it intriguing how the rich commodify these things. Everything has a price, including potentially your final moment of a horrific death.
I’m shocked. Really Elton John????
Exactly, the sick fk is so far removed from the everyday people.
Wait until you find out how many people own personal items of Hitler. One guy owns the telephone Hitler used in his bunker to call in the bombings on London.
I had just turned 15. I was walking into my 9th grade spanish class when another teacher ran up and told our teacher to turn on the TV. We all sat and watched. Listened to the reports. Wondered what had happened. Every single kid and teacher in my school was watching as the second plane flew into the second tower. I remember the shrieks and gasps from people when we all instantly realized that wasnt an accident. I remember the sound of bodies hitting the ground and tops of the other buildings (but not knowing what it was), and the moment the cameras panned up to see people leaping out the windows while holding hands...and in that moment realizing that sound was bodies and not just falling debris. The way I held my breath for the entire decent, and then hearing screams from other classrooms, halls, and of course, from myself as the towers fell. I can still hear myself sobbingly say through tears, "oh my god!!". That feeling never goes away. Those sounds never go away. I cant imagine having witnessed those things in person. Im about to be 37, and this day still messes with me. I dont think it will ever go away.
Totally agreed, Sabrina... I was 22 when it happened. It is like a time that is frozen in time, for me.
Seeing that photo always gives me anxiety, knowing he and all the others were conscious for several seconds as the ground got closer and closer.
Heart likely popped long before he hit
@@gasaddict I'd say that would depend on one's frame of mind before and during...
@@gasaddict I've read that's a myth.
It is a myth otherwise skydivers would never make it, unfortunately all of these innocent people where completely awake and aware until the very end…
@@adambrennan7416 '... _were_ ...awake...'
My brother-in-law was working in the second tower when the first plane hit He was in a meeting with his colleagues and he suggested that they leave right away when they heard the first plane hit. He was traumatized when I got to speak to him that evening when he made it home to my sister and their kids in New Jersey. He told me how he saw the bodies hitting the sidewalk as the people fell or jumped, I feel bad that he has to live with those images in his head for the rest of his life.
Omg that's just indescribable, unreal!
I'm happy he made it home. I was across the country trying to get home in NJ. But when I landed, and saw the living night mare a few days later, it's a wonder people are still sane.
Seeing, and hearing bodies hitting the pavement at 120mph had to be absolutely gut-wrenching, and sickening. I'm so sorry that your Brother-in-law had to witness that.😞 May we Never Forget.🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🇺🇸
His job is so difficult and yet so easy. Having that kind of power and responsibility must take a huge toll on him. I still have such a hard time to look at that picture of someone falling to their death and knowing there’s nothing they could do but accept it. It’s traumatic, haunting, and beautiful.
@Hello there, how are you doing this blessed day?
I knew no one in the World Trade Center but the pure emotion of that day in general & those pictures of so much pain just spring up raw emotion instantly...
Same. I lived (& still live) on the opposite side of the country. So much horror.
Kinda low class to do a program about people jumping to their death.
Have a little respect CBS
My dad used to work on the 84th floor but that day he didn’t go
@@nochepatada it was what it was !
@@fflubadubb With due respect to your probable age, it's time to lose that stupid "it is what it is." Or, in your case, ditto in the past tense. If you have no intelligent thoughts to contribute, never expose your vacant brain to the world.
During the building of the 9/11 memorial there was significant conversations about whether or not this photograph would be included in the exhibit. The large majority of the families of the survivors argued the picture should be shown because it told the truth of that horrible Tuesday in September. Visiting the memorial myself and seeing the picture behind an alcove that protects it from those who don’t want to see it, is an experience I won’t forget until my dying day. We all can empathize and relate with the visual image of a person just like us that was faced with certain death and chose to free themselves of their awful circumstance on their own terms. God bless them all
I saw this on a documentary about the Museum and how there was an alcove that visitors to the museum could walk past if they couldn't look at certain images or items retrieved from the site.
I dont think you can get the true scale until you see the images of the people jumping, it hurts the heart but only then can you truly feel it's weight
I think it's extremely important to tell the stories of those who where forced to jump, it's part of the tragedy and makes people see the humanity of it all. Just like it's important to tell what happened during the Holocaust, how horrifying it might be. But good with a warning if it's too much for someone.
Goosebumps when I see the other images of the "falling man" rest those people's souls. Nobody should be in such a position..
Well I wanted to find a pic to show my son of the trade center that day, so I pulled this up and it instantly broke me down in tears. I remember every emotion from that day 22 years ago.. shock, anger, fear, sadness all at the same time. I swear I'm traumatized and I wasn't even there, just sitting in ohio watching it happen live. Idk how humans can be so cruel. I just don't and won't ever understand.
May all the victims who passed away Rest In Peace and my deepest condolences to their families and friends.
Elton John is so weird for this. Imagine some rich man finding a picture of your loved one falling to his death in such horrible circumstances and he decorates with it because he thinks it’s ‘beautiful’.
Yeah Elton John is a very creepy individual
Love it. Triggers the snowflakes so hard
thank you for understanding that.
Oh come now. He certainly doesn't mean that the man had to jump and THAT was beautiful, or that he fell from afar and was destroyed. He obviously is looking at it from the angle of the actual physical act of falling. Interesting that none of the fallers look really distraught.
@@annettegenovesi It shouldn't be looked at like an art piece to be collected. It's a tragedy that should not be capitalized on. I don't think you can register the shock that these people went through and say because their faces don't "look" a certain way, that they aren't distraught.
It takes a special kind of person to go out every day and share these pictures with the world ❤
It's interesting how a person can be so detached and easily able to stomach the horror and sadness he is seeing and photographing, but then get chocked up when his daughter tells him she loves him. There must be a switch in the human heart.
I think there is. There has to be in order to be able to do certain jobs. First responders, veterinarians, doctors and nurses deal with so much tragedy and death almost every day. It’s just easier to distance yourself when it’s less personal and not your own loved one. And it’s not even easy to do at first, it takes years of practice.
@@kristy1653 Agreed. There were so many times when I had to deal with emergencies that ended horribly (retired RN) and keep my emotions locked away so I could do my job. There were times I would get in my car and start crying or I'd make it home before doing so but never while on the job. You can't do it if your emotions take control.
I remember seeing this one and not being able to look away. I hope the people that made that decision to jump had some peace before it was all over.
I visited the 9/11 Memorial Museum on my first trip to NYC in 2017, and it is still difficult to talk about. Walking between the two reflecting pools, seeing all those names was very emotional, and somber.
I remember reaching out over as far as I could over the granite slabs, trying to "touch" the towers in total disbelief they weren't there, and looking up! Quite a numbing feeling, a true sense of loss. 😢
I spent a few hours in the Memorial Museum, taking in all the exhibits and artifacts, but did not go into the "theatre" to watch video footage. It was too much to handle.
When I left, it was dark, and as I walked out to the tree lined Plaza, I encountered the pure white Occulous building lit up in a light drizzle.
It reminded me of a giant white dove of peace, and I broke down.
I am so grateful I went, and I want to return for a second visit... once for each tower. 😔
I remember thinking when i saw a documentary about the Museum being underground was to also reflect those who were underneath the Rubble and Metal of the two towers. I can't be underground so don't think i could go and see the museum for that reason. Makes you think doesn't it?.
What a truly lovely comment. God bless.
I recently learned that the footprints of the memorial pools are actually smaller than the towers themselves were. The first row of trees surrounding each pool is where the tower walls actually were.
A photo in time says so much, when words aren't enough.
Right? That photo has helped me in so many ways face death with dignity, courage and strength. I was in a 12 car pile up. Hit/propelled four times. Some of us have a choice when but we will all leave this physical body. Falling man's choice was courageous. I will never forget that day and faced my own death with faith.
"Some of you may not want to see this." If you lived thorough 9.11, you've already seen it.
THIS BROKE MY HEART, I weep for All who Passed Away
Just remember that the U.S. killed thousands of Afghans through aerial bombing before the year ended. Then we went on to occupy Afghanistan for decades and inflict suffering on the people there far greater than what people in New York suffered.
The images of people falling and the audio from trapped people calling in a futile attempt for rescue are the things I will never forget.
It’s a remarkable picture. Every time I see it, I wonder about that man…” was he at peace…was he in sheer terror…did he decide in a split second that he would rather feel and smell a beautiful cool September day than be burned alive…were his eyes open or closed…?” Etc. It’s still impossible to comprehend the horrors of that day or the pure evil that conceived it.
"That could be me" - An awesome summary of why this picture is so powerful. It could have happened to any one of us. Not only is it terrible in itself, but the anonymity of the man is also tragic, and one is aware that this also could have been the case if it were you.
This image has always haunted me.
20 years later and it's still affects me as if it happened yesterday. RIP unfortunate souls...
Bless Your Words.
Thank You
When Elton John has it all, what else does he want. A picture of a terrified man, moments before his death! Way to go Reg!
I used to press my head against the glass at the top of the WTC while dining at the restaurant they had called Windows on the World and imagine plunging down into the spires of all those skyscrapers. Horrific beyond imagination.
😢
Amazing photos. And very sad.
It was great to help identify a person who fell. The husband must feel a tiny bit better that he knows how she died. Prayers for the lost. Also the family and friends, along with the First Responders who tryed to help people.
Those photos help us see the true horror of that beautiful day that turned tragic so long ago.
May we never forget this day and all of the victims.
Also remember that some people are heros.
Thank you for capturing these images. They are so powerful even 22 years later the pain can still bring tears.
We need these people.
They document visual history.
Some heartwarming, some shocking...some utterly heartbreaking.
It's history. Its in a sense honest and telling. It should be documented and preserved for current and future generations.
Still, I feel horrible and sad whenever I think about it or see videos or pictures of 9/11. I used to work at the J.Crew on the ground floor but quit and started classes not too far away. I had classes later that day but got a phone call at home that morning from my father to turn on the news.
I already knew something bad be happened, just by his tone. I was alone in queens and the sheer horror I felt. I don’t know what happened to my coworkers cause I quit and never kept in touch. 😢😢😢😢
I cannot forget seeing these images happening live as I sat in horror in front of the tv.
Just think about how the U.S. killed several thousand Afghans before 2001 ended.
The U.S. killed far more people in our decades of occupation than died in New York on September 11.
Never forget that for every single American that died in the towers, members of the American military killed multiple Afghans. For every mother that died in New York, we made sure that at least two mothers died in Afghanistan.
Yay America 🇺🇸
Ground floor was out safely for the most of them
I wish they would change the title of this photo to Jonathan Briley and give him the respect and honor that he is due. I can't imagine the horror and the fear of Leaping to your death from a hundred stories in the air. Just having the nerve to jump and then the awful horrible flight all the way down I can't even wrap my mind around how terrifying it must have been. What what is even worse is the terror that he must have faced that gave him no other option. I love this guy and I am glad that we are all connected and that me and him are apart of each other as we all are. I'm shaking my head and crying because it just takes all of your words and your breath and your heart beats from you and just sucks it all out and leaves you feeling so Hollow and deflated. Jonathan Briley I love you now and forever and I am looking forward to meeting you someday. Run free my brother
Life is so precious, if this doesn't break your heart nothing will.....RIP to all that lost their life on that horrible day....
To this day "Falling Man" makes my heart stop for a moment every time I see the image.
His name was Mr. Johnathan Briley 43 yrs old sound engineer who worked at the windows. This is the info that I've seen in other videos and on Google that the family was called down to confirm was this was their relative! This photo is not haunting but it's definitely very deeply sad many had to make only two choices or go down with the collapse. Rest in heaven to the beautiful people and to the people on the planes had to be just as sad and scary since they really didn't have a choice!😟😟😟
Why do you think it's NOT haunting??
@@horsepanther Because this individual, apparently, (if they are to be taken at their word) is not _haunted_ after having viewed the image
It could be him but it could also be another man with a Spanish name (that I don't remember) as I believe they said in this video. They still don't know which one of them this is.
@@maavien5373 there is a whole documentary on this falling man and was in fact the Jonathan guy , norberto’s family said it wasn’t him too
That day I remember crying all day and constantly watching the aftermath. What a horrible day for America.
You and my dad go together, since he was supposed to go to work, that same morning.
And We Need to NEVER FORGET.
I PRAY..THANK YOU
The country hasn’t been the same since
I love this guy. He has a true artist's heart. Fascinating to see what falling from so far is like, and it's hard to believe it ends so badly.
knowing your fiancé, the lover you want to spend your entire life with and have all the memories ahead, died terrified and alone jumping off a building... that is a whole other world. Rest in peace.
What a blessing it is for us all, that no one can identify the falling man. He represents us all.
That’s crazy saying that. Few people have tried something so gruesome. Sure, lots of people go through stress, crisis, breakups. But they don’t deliberately choose which way to die like the falling man did.
@@jimmynielsen2806 Perhaps I didn't express my thoughts clearly. Suppose you identified the man as your Uncle Bob. You would have to spend the rest of your life living with that haunting picture of dear old Uncle Bob falling to his death. The blessing is that nobody has to go through that because nobody can identify him. While I feel terrible for that man, I don't feel as terrible as I would if I had discovered he was a close friend or relative.
@@frankhoward7645 Ah okay. Now I know what you mean.
He was identified. The family refused to accept it. They found it unacceptable that he would have chosen suicide. That in itself is so sad.
@@aureol40012 wow, that's actually messed up. imagine having such a strong assumption about your kid that it prevents you from ever mourning their death... the people had no choice and would have died anyway. So weird that they would paint the other jumpers as "choosing suicide." Didnt even know this, ty
I'd like to think the falling man had made his peace and chose how he would leave this life. Im so sad he had to make such an awful choice
These images and the videos still haunt me. To try to fathom the choices they had is just beyond me to either jump and end it quick or slowly burn. To think about how bad it must have been up there that knowing that was their BEST option is so extremely impossible to imagine. I hope some families were able to get some closure by finding photos of their loved ones even if it was of their last moment
This still breaks my heart😢
Jonathan Briley was his name. The man in the photo was wearing an orange t-shirt which became visible in the same series of photos. Briley's family acknowledged that it was likely him, as he was known to wear an orange t-shirt, and the build and complexion seemed to match as well.
I feel like those of us who remember that day, that one picture explains everything. Our emotions, pain, and anger. Every time I look at that one picture, it takes me right back to that morning.
Eu jamais guardaria uma foto em minha casa, moldurada ( 😢) de alguém em seus últimos momentos de vida.
Aos que perderam suas vidas que Deus tenha os recebido com todo o seu amor! Nova York e o mundo choraram nesse fatídico dia.
Keeping your calm while photographing it, shows amazing skill. Seeing the other pictures in tandem really saddens me. But it happened and we can try to be precious but go ahead..look at it..prove it happened 😢
I was 18 when this happened and I remember the way we all collectively felt sorrow. Because we witnessed something so horrible and tragic
You must be white
Did you went to army after it?
Remember how dumb people were afterwards? Folks said “it’s cause they hate our freedom” even though that obviously doesn’t make sense, and the motivations for the attack were totally known. I guess folks would rather turn their brains off than grapple with the reality that maybe the U.S. brought this on itself.
I was 19, and had just started my sophomore year of college. I had several friends studying in NYC. I truly will never forget that day.
And now look at us.
I watched one of the special 9-11 documentation where they said something that hurt me to my core.. That those below on the grown could hear the bodies hitting the concrete... Never had I thought of that.
I have witnessed several jumpers and the sound is loud. Almost like a car hitting a wall.
@@zero9112 are you serious? I wouldn't have thought that. How sad.
I think even a few first responders were injured or killed when jumpers landed on them.
There's a video on youtube called "9/11 - Jules Naudet "Higher Quality" Raw Video and Sound Clips" and I looked at the comments and got goosebumps reading that the loud noises were bodies hitting the ground
I recall my math teacher bawled her heart out that horrific day. My classmates absolutely prayed with her that night
That photo memoralized that horrible day and serves as a reminder as well. I won't look away and I will never forget.
I read once that we owe it to these brave people to look upon these images
That’s also how I feel. So I never forgot them. As painful as it is. Just people who went about their day with families lives futures and all snuffed out due to hate.
I just watched a Korean film called "A Taxi Driver" and it was about a real-life journalist and taxi driver who went right into the heart of the Gwanju uprising in 1980. It showed how horrific the sights were yet the journalist had to keep filming - and he became the first to break the news of what was happening to the world. It was a very moving film. We definitely need to hear more stories about photographers and journalists; these are the people seeing the history unfold first-hand. These are the people breaking these stories to the world. I value that work so much.
That movie is fantastic! I watched it because it was nominated for some awards and I had already seen quite a few Korean movies. I liked it a lot more than Parasite which is the more broadly accepted Korean movie in recent memory. Hopefully movies like this one with strong emotional stories continue to push South Korea’s film industry forward amidst the insanity of their neighbor’s antics.
God bless all those that lost their lives that horrible day .., the UK stood still in time as did everyone else around the world.. 😢
Today is 9/11 year 2023 and that photo still haunts my soul😢
A beautiful image of something so tragic... Elton John was talking crazy
Goosebumps.. I still get shivers from seeing that picture
That's just one picture, multiple news channels actually broadcast videos of multiple people jumping some were even at the base of towers and you could see the bodies being torn apart on impact with the ground
The most iconic and haunting photos. Get goosebumps every time.
Dudes so chill
My good friend was working 8 blocks away...he was herded towards the Brooklyn Bridge ( subways were down ). He still has nightmares about the sound of people jumping to their deaths. The loud unmistakable thumps. Horrifying.
I found out recently that people walking home over the bridges were afraid they were going to blow them up as well.
Heard the thuds from 7 blocks away? Damn!
I thought it was the repeated sound like a box of dishes bring dropped...
He still seems very removed from the emotions of those photographs, even when he talked about showing images to a man looking for his wife. I'm sure the man cried, I'm sure there were words exchanged... Did the photographer put his arm around the man's shoulder? Did he cry with him? When he saw all the images he photographed later on, was he moved and have any reaction to them at all? The only emotion he showed was speaking about his sweet daughter.
I sat with a former Marine as he went through images of the men he fought with in Iraq and as he pointed out the ones who had died and told me what they were like and what he misses about them. I cried with him. He said he thought I would understand being the son of an Air Force Colonel who was a Navigator in B-52s during the Vietnam War. It is the Officers who go to war in the Air Force, and they are in the air and they don't see the same things the Marines and the Army see, I reminded him. But, I did understand that the kid next to me may end up without his dad coming home, or it could be me, and I understood what military families sacrifice (I sacrificed a great deal), and a little bit knowing what those in uniform sacrifice. So, I told him I was honored to hear him talk about them and he should say whatever he wants to and I will sit there next to him and listen, because I really want to know about these men and who they were. It was an amazing experience - sad, but I was happy to be there for him even though I had just met him a few days prior - he was an old high school buddy of a friend of mine who came to visit.
So as a photographer I often will take nude portraits of Clients and models at which no time during or after do I even remotely find it sexual or arousing. Even if before I find the model to be attractive or my type; once I pick up that camera then it’s all just shapes lights shadows and composition. It’s not that this man isn’t unfeeling it’s that because he took the photos he has the separation. Photographers never look at the photos they take like the rest of the world. It’s a tragic gift.
I mean, he started as a freaking nightcrawler, he was chasing accidents, dude's a sociopath through and through
Richard Drew deserved the Pulitzer Prize because he's one of the Best Photographers. I view pictures as pieces of History, in that exact moment in time. To avoid taking a picture, is an attempt to deny or hide the reality. If these types of photos offend people, perhaps edit the search settings & don't look at them. (There are many ways to avoid seeing them when someone is truly offended)