By Dirk Langeveld

STAMFORD — In recognition of the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11th, 2001, the Stamford History Center is asking residents to submit their recollections and stories related to the day.

The center says the project is based on Steven Spielberg’s “Shoah” project. Spielberg established this effort in order to collect, preserve, and share the testimonies of Holocaust survivors to help create a better understanding of this event and “build a future for all that rejects antisemitism, hatred, dehumanization, and genocide.” The Stamford History Center hopes to achieve a similar result with its own project, collecting first-person perspectives to present a complete chronicle of the events of 9/11.

The center suggests that Stamford was one of the most strongly impacted cities by the attacks outside of New York City; Washington, D.C.; and Shanksville, Pa. Stamford is located just 20 miles from New York City, and smoke from the World Trade Center was visible from the city’s waterfront.

Stamford is within commuting distance from New York, and contemporary accounts reflect how several residents were in the city at the time the World Trade Center was attacked. Ten people from Stamford were killed on 9/11, and the Stamford Fire Department hosts a memorial service for these victims and first responders each year at the Woodside Fire Station.

In the years after the attacks, Stamford continued to have a significant connection with the day. Beverly Eckert, a Stamford resident whose husband Sean Rooney died in the World Trade Center, became a prominent activist on behalf of 9/11 victims’ families. Eckert died in 2009 in the crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 near Buffalo, N.Y. Rex Morris, Stamford’s fire chief since 2023, was a captain in the New York Fire Department on 9/11 and helped lead search and rescue efforts at Ground Zero.

Any Stamford residents who want to participate in the Stamford History Center’s effort can write an account of 250 to 500 words. People can opt to use their full name or their first name and last initial, and should include their email and phone number for a followup. The center will use the accounts periodically in their exhibits and maintain them in their archives.

Accounts can be emailed to exec@stamfordhistory.org. Written accounts, photos, and other artifacts can also be dropped off in person at the center between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

Expanded coverage of Fairfield County cultural events is made possible with support from the Fairfield University Quick Center for the Arts

Dirk Langeveld

^{_{Dirk Langeveld has worked as a news reporter, content marketing specialist, and freelance writer. He is the author of “The Artful Dodger: The 20-Year Pursuit of World War I Draft Dodger Grover Cleveland Bergdoll” and has contributed to several books on Connecticut history.}}