WEBVTT 00:00.578 --> 00:05.578 JOHN YANG: With memory of 9/11 fading for some, and images of that day unknown to a 00:05.920 --> 00:10.920 younger generation, the Smithsonian Institution is piecing together history object by object. 00:12.480 --> 00:17.480 William Brangham is back with a behind-the-scenes look, part of our arts and culture series, Canvas. 00:18.320 --> 00:23.320 WILLIAM BRANGHAM: 00:23.680 --> 00:28.000 Tucked away within the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., 00:29.760 --> 00:33.920 are some of the most personal and poignant relics from September 11. 00:33.920 --> 00:35.600 PETER LIEBHOLD, Curator Emeritus, National Museum of American History: There were people that really 00:35.600 --> 00:40.600 wanted to make sure that the loss, the sacrifice, the experience of their loved ones was recorded. 00:42.400 --> 00:46.000 WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Back in 2002, Congress tasked the museum 00:46.000 --> 00:51.000 with preserving the story of 9/11 in artifacts from that day and beyond. 00:51.040 --> 00:56.040 PETER LIEBHOLD: Collecting is truly a black art. There's no book on how to 00:56.080 --> 01:01.080 do it. We wanted to collect those icons, those really important pieces that create a signpost. 01:03.360 --> 01:08.360 Today, there are deniers of the Holocaust. We hear from Afghanistan that the Taliban is denying that 01:10.880 --> 01:14.400 Osama bin Laden was involved in September 11, 01:15.200 --> 01:20.200 that having those artifacts that make it undeniable that something happened is so critical. 01:21.200 --> 01:25.440 WILLIAM BRANGHAM: There is no special exhibit right now, in part because of the pandemic, 01:25.440 --> 01:30.440 but the museum rotates many of its some-300 objects from 9/11 in and out of exhibitions. 01:31.840 --> 01:36.840 PETER LIEBHOLD: This is a piece of steel from the World Trade Center. We traveled to the scrap yard, 01:38.560 --> 01:43.560 picked out a piece that we really thought looked like the emotion of the place, and collected it. 01:46.480 --> 01:51.480 The World Trade Center was assembled like a Tinkertoy set, in little pieces that could 01:51.520 --> 01:56.520 be put together. And we could actually figure out whose office this was that -- who it represented. 01:59.600 --> 02:04.600 WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In addition to the steel beam, other items from that day 02:06.160 --> 02:11.160 are this airphone from Flight 93, where passengers and crew fought the terrorists and downed the 02:12.400 --> 02:17.400 plane in rural Pennsylvania, and this I.D. card worn by Navy Commander Patrick Dunn, who'd kissed 02:19.360 --> 02:23.920 his pregnant wife goodbye before heading to the Pentagon, where he was killed in the attack. 02:25.280 --> 02:30.280 There's the cell phone used by then-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani as he helped his city respond. 02:30.960 --> 02:32.984 RUDY GIULIANI (R), Former Mayor of New York: All right, let's get -- let's go north then. 02:32.984 --> 02:36.560 WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The angry aftermath of 9/11 is reflected as well. 02:37.200 --> 02:42.200 This Sikh turban belonged to Balbir Singh Sodhi, who was murdered in a hate crime, 02:42.400 --> 02:47.400 mistakenly targeted as a Muslim in the days after the attacks. Other powerful objects 02:48.080 --> 02:53.080 came from the donations of loved ones. New York Fire Chief Joseph Pfeifer was one of the initial 02:54.000 --> 02:59.000 commanders on scene at the World Trade Center, directing firefighters up into the burning towers. 03:00.560 --> 03:02.960 One of those firemen was his brother Kevin. 03:02.960 --> 03:06.480 JOSEPH PFEIFER, Author, "Ordinary Heroes": And we stood there and we looked at each other, 03:07.840 --> 03:12.840 wondering if each of us was going to be OK. And then I told him to go up, 03:16.800 --> 03:21.800 to evacuate and to rescue people in the building. And that was the last time I saw my brother Kevin. 03:22.880 --> 03:27.880 WILLIAM BRANGHAM: His brother's body was discovered in the smoldering wreckage days later, 03:28.000 --> 03:32.880 along with Kevin's officer's tool, which is an implement used to wedge open doors. 03:32.880 --> 03:37.880 JOSEPH PFEIFER: And we knew it was him because on the back of his bunker gear it had his name. 03:39.760 --> 03:44.760 And lying next to him was his officer's tool. And they put him in a stretcher along with this tool 03:49.120 --> 03:54.120 and covered him with an American flag, and we carried him out of ground zero. 03:54.240 --> 03:58.640 WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Joe Pfeifer later donated Kevin's officer's tool to the Smithsonian. 03:58.640 --> 04:03.640 JOSEPH PFEIFER: I hope that they come away understanding that they represent what I call 04:06.320 --> 04:11.320 ordinary heroes. That day, as my brother was coming up, people were coming down. 04:12.640 --> 04:17.600 And he was -- he was telling them, don't stop, keep going, you can get out of here. 04:17.600 --> 04:21.520 He stopped to take and redirect people 04:22.240 --> 04:26.640 from one stairs to a safer stairs, a faster way out. And I'm sure he used that tool 04:27.760 --> 04:32.760 to point. Doing ordinary things at an extraordinary time made a difference. 04:32.800 --> 04:36.000 WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Twenty year ago, Univision reporter Blanca 04:36.000 --> 04:40.720 Rosa Vilchez in her blue suit was out covering the New York mayoral race. 04:41.280 --> 04:45.280 But when the towers fell, millions watched her in real time. 04:46.240 --> 04:50.320 After days reporting on the attack, Vilchez put that outfit 04:50.320 --> 04:55.320 unwashed into the back of her closet. Years later, she too donated it to the Smithsonian. 04:56.240 --> 05:01.240 BLANCA ROSA VILCHEZ, Univision: What have we learned in these 20 years. This person who 05:01.280 --> 05:06.280 ran with the jacket is alive. How is she doing now? What happened to the country in 20 years? 05:09.360 --> 05:14.360 And if that jacket talks to us, the person himself or herself, 05:16.240 --> 05:20.960 that question, that jacket doesn't belong to me. It belongs to a museum. 05:20.960 --> 05:23.680 WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Her outfit will soon be part of a new 05:23.680 --> 05:28.480 larger Latino exhibit examining 9/11's impact on that community. 05:28.480 --> 05:30.080 CEDRIC YEH, Curator, National Museum of American History: Individual communities 05:30.080 --> 05:35.080 were affected on different levels. And this is our opportunity to be able to tell their story, 05:37.040 --> 05:40.400 because it allows us to tell the broader story, especially after 20 years. 05:40.400 --> 05:45.400 WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In another area of the museum, photo curator Shannon Perich continues to add to 05:45.840 --> 05:50.840 the over 1,000 photos the Smithsonian has gathered to help document that day and its ripple effects. 05:52.560 --> 05:53.360 SHANNON PERICH, Curator, National Museum of American History: This is 05:53.360 --> 05:57.280 a body of work by photojournalist Ashley Gilbertson, who created a 05:57.280 --> 06:01.440 who created a series and a book called "Bedrooms of the Fallen." 06:01.440 --> 06:06.440 It's an homage to those soldiers who gave their lives in the line of duty in Afghanistan in 06:07.440 --> 06:12.440 particular. But it also reminds us of where the war takes place. It takes place at the home front. 06:13.680 --> 06:18.560 WILLIAM BRANGHAM: For the past 18 years, the Smithsonian has been building this 06:18.560 --> 06:23.520 time-capsule-like collection, including this clock from the Pentagon 06:23.520 --> 06:28.520 frozen in time the moment the plane hit, a reminder for all time. 06:30.160 --> 06:33.840 For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm William Brangham. 06:33.840 --> 06:38.480 JOHN YANG: The public can share stories, see photos and artifacts, and watch 06:38.480 --> 06:43.480 discussions on the National Museum of American History's Web site, Americanhistory.si.edu.