The remains of unidentified victims of the 9/11 attacks were moved to the September 11 Memorial and Museum Saturday morning.
"They transported the unidentified remains of 1,115 victims from 9/11 from the chief medical examiner's office ... There were no bagpipes; there were no dignitaries. Just silence across the street from the site." (Via Fox News)
CNN says on Wednesday a letter had been sent from New York officials to victims' families letting them know the unidentified remains were going to be moved to a basement storage room in the museum, which was built at the site of the old Twin Towers.
The remains are being placed behind a wall, which is inscribed with a quote from Virgil's "Aeneid": "No day shall erase you from the memory of time." The museum's website says there will also be a private viewing and seating room behind this wall for the victims' families
The official death toll from the World Trade Center attacks stands at 2,753. This means 40 percent of the victims were never identified, and more than 7,000 fragmentary remains will be housed in the museum. (Via The New York Times)
There were mixed reactions among the victims' families about the decision to move the unidentified remains.
The sister of a man who worked on the 84th floor of Tower Two told The Wall Street Journal, "I cannot be happier that he is finally coming home."
But The Guardian says quite a few others protested the move, covering their mouths with black bands in a silent protest Saturday morning. They believe a museum isn't the right resting place for their loved ones.
"They also believe that there's some risk in storing some of these remains in the sub-basement level, given that the 9/11 site was prone to flooding during Superstorm Sandy." (Via MSNBC)
Al Jazeera cameras captured an impromptu press conference across the street from the museum Saturday morning, in which a victim's family member called for another resting place to be built for the unidentified victims' remains.
"They never got a chance to go home to their families' cemeteries. Of all the victims of 9/11, these are the ones that should be given the most beautiful, dignified place to rest."
Officials will keep working to identify the remains now housed in the museum. The National September 11 Memorial and Museum will officially open to the public May 22. Families of the victims will not have to pay to visit the museum and see their family member's remains.
