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9/11 Memorial & Museum opens to the public

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NYC firemen raise the National 9/11 flag during a ceremony marking the opening of the 9/11 Memorial Museum.
NYC firemen raise the national 9/11 flag during a ceremony marking the opening of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. Getty Images
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Members of the public wipe away tears during the ceremony.
Members of the public wipe away tears during the ceremony. AP
People line up to enter the museum.
People line up to enter the museum.Getty Images
The 9/11 Memorial Museum.
The 9/11 Memorial & Museum AP
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Firemen and members of the public hold the National 9/11 Flag.
Firemen and members of the public hold the national 9/11 flag.Getty Images
A fireman helps to raise up the flag.
A fireman helps to raise the flag. Getty Images
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Members of an honor guard fold the National 9/11 flag that was donated by New York Says Thank You Foundation.
Members of an honor guard fold the national 9/11 flag, which was donated by the New York Says Thank You Foundation.Reuters
Firefighters furl the flag following the ceremony.
Firefighters furl the flag following the ceremony. AP
Participants hold the folded flag before carrying it to the 9/11 Memorial Museum.
Participants hold the folded flag before carrying it to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.AP
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The National September 11 Memorial & Museum opened its doors to the general public Wednesday for the first time, giving tourists and New Yorkers alike a heart-wrenching look into one of America’s darkest days.

“I think this is a great tribute,” said Kathy Yamato, 49, a Bank of America employee who worked in the towers but had a start time after the ­attacks. “I’m glad they ­finally got it done.”

She and colleagues from the bank broke down in tears as they watched a projected video of people leaping to their deaths from the upper floors of the building as the inferno raged beneath them.

“Just to see these images — I don’t know if it’s survivor’s guilt or what — it’s overwhelming,” she said.

The day began with a tearful ceremony that included about two dozen cops and firefighters marching to the entrance before unfurling a tattered American flag that had flown not far from the World Trade Center.

It was restored and toured around to all 50 states before returning to what will be its eternal home as part of the ­museum’s collection.

“It was a special moment for me, holding the flag,” said 9-year-old cancer survivor Tommy Minervini, of Waldwick, NJ, who participated in the flag ceremony before going inside.

“It’s a part of history, and it made me so happy to hold it.”

Many visitors found themselves overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of the museum, which includes more than 10,000 ­artifacts, 23,000 still images and an archive of more than 500 hours of video.

About 7,000 free tickets had been given out in the months prior to the grand opening, giving each visitor about 2¹/₂ hours to tour the museum.

But for some, the grief conjured up by the artifacts was just too much.

Joseph McAuliffe, 64, had to leave after less than an hour because he was overwhelmed by the sight of crushed firetrucks and ­ambulances.

“It makes you very sad when you see that up close right in front of you,” the Jersey City resident said. “It was too much.”

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9/11 Memorial Museum
It looks like an abstract sculpture, a disquieting artistic piece reminding museum visitors of the carnage. But this “impact steel” was part of the facade of the north tower, and was located at the point of impact where hijacked Flight 11 pierced the building between floors 93 and 99. The jet was carrying 10,000 gallons of fuel and was traveling at about 465 mph when it hit the tower.Jin Lee
9/11 Memorial Museum
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9/11 Memorial Museum
An elevator motor from the north tower, the largest model in the world when installed, powered one of the express or service cars. For many World Trade Center workers, the decision to take the elevator meant the difference between life and death, as they became trapped when the power failed. Jin Lee
9/11 Memorial Museum
A piece of one of the hijacked airplanes brings to life the horror of the attacks. In all, 76 passengers and 11 crew members aboard American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767, perished when the jet crashed into the north tower at 8:46 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. And 51 passengers and nine crew members died when United Airlines Flight 175, also a 767, slammed into the south tower at 9:03 a.m. Both flights had departed that morning from Logan International Airport in Boston and were on their way to Los Angeles when they were hijacked by al Qaeda terrorists.Jin Lee
9/11 Memorial Museum
The "Survivors' Staircase"Jin Lee
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9/11 Memorial Museum
The symbolic “Last Column,” a steel beam from one of the World Trade Center towers, stands near the slurry wall that held back the Hudson River from the site. The slurry walls formed “the bathtub,” a skewed rectangle with sides about 980 by 520 feet and as deep as seven stories. The wall withstood the forces of tons of collapsing debris and held in place, preventing the waters of the Hudson from flooding lower Manhattan and the PATH train tunnels after the attacks.Jin Lee
9/11 Memorial Museum
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9/11 Memorial Museum
This American flag, like several others found in the rubble, gives testament to New Yorkers’ patriotic spirit.AFP/Getty Images
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9/11 Memorial Museum
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9/11 Memorial Museum
This 20-foot section of twisted metal was once part of the 360-foot transmission tower that stood atop the north tower. The tower supported 10 main television antennas, numerous auxiliary antennas and a master FM antenna. Transmission began in June 1980. Ten TV stations, including all major networks, broadcast from the mast.Jin Lee
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9/11 Memorial Museum
Firefighter Christian Waugh was among the rescue workers who recovered the body of Fire Department Chaplain Father Mychal Judge. The helmet Waugh wore that day is on display at the museum.AFP/Getty Images
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On display is a standard-issue FDNY shirt that had been worn by Lt. Mickey Kross, one of 16 people who survived the north-tower collapse in a small air pocket under Stairwell B.Getty Images
9/11 Memorial Museum
Prayer cards, patches and mementos of would-be rescuers who gave their lives at Ground Zero fill a glass display case at the museum.Getty Images
9/11 Memorial Museum
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9/11 Memorial Museum
A display of missing-persons fliers recalls the anguished days and weeks after all the 9/11 attacks. The signs became part of the urban landscape near Ground Zero and were a heartbreaking reminder of the thousands of metropolitan-area residents who perished.Getty Images
9/11 Memorial Museum
Injured survivors struggled for years after the attack. One, a burn victim, donated a recovery mask.Getty Images
9/11 Memorial Museum
A simple pair of eyeglasses and its case are reminders of how lives were changed that day.Getty Images
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9/11 Memorial Museum
These were simple objects on someone's desk before a jet crashed into the tower: a phone, a Rolodex and a pair of scissors.Getty Images
9/11 Memorial Museum
Victim Glenn J. Winuk's ID was found amid the rubble in the days after 9/11. Winuk, 40, a volunteer firefighter in Jericho, LI, was a partner at the law firm Holland & Knight on the corner of Broadway and Dey Street. His partial remains were found near the south tower.Getty Images
9/11 Memorial Museum
Curators preserved the interior of Chelsea Jeans, including the ash-covered merchandise that owner David Cohen left undisturbed. The clothing store, which was located a block from the towers on Broadway near Fulton Street, became a makeshift shrine and a place of pilgrimage after the Sept. 11 attacks. Jin Lee
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9/11 Memorial Museum
Dust, ash and debris from the collapsed Twin Towers cover the clothes from the Chelsea Jeans store.Getty Images
9/11 Memorial Museum
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An American Airlines slipper recovered from the hijacked planes. AP
9/11 Memorial Museum
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9/11 Memorial Museum
Architectural firm Minoru ­Yamasaki Associates built three large-scale models of the WTC for the Port Authority. This one, built from 1969 to 1971, is the largest and most detailed of the original series of presentation models that survive.Jin Lee
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9/11 Memorial Museum
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9/11 Memorial Museum
Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani looks over a display.EPA
9/11 Memorial Museum
The countdown to Osama bin Laden's capture finally ended in May 2011, when Navy SEAL Team 6 killed him in Pakistan.Getty Images
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9/11 Memorial Museum
The hijackers of the four jets are on display, putting faces to the evil that brought death and destruction.Getty Images
9/11 Memorial Museum
Osama bin Laden is finally dead. But the plot he masterminded will haunt victims' families forever.Getty Images
9/11 Memorial Museum
"I can hear you! I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people -- and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!" President George W. Bush used this bullhorn to reassure rescuers -- and America.Getty Images
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9/11 Memorial Museum
A display tracks the path of the planes.Jin Lee
9/11 Memorial Museum
The exterior of the museum.Handout
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G.N. Miller
9/11 Memorial Museum
Jin Lee
9/11 Memorial Museum
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Jin Lee
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