New Account of Sept. 11 Loss, With 40 Fewer Souls to Mourn

[kskiska]

The sun inched across a cloudless sky yesterday, the breath of October rustled trees, and the number of people killed in the World Trade Center disaster dropped by 40. Just like that: 40 fewer souls to imagine rising from the dust; 40 fewer people to include in nightly prayers.

Until now, the number of dead was 2,792. That number, 2,792, had stood firm for more than a year. It was the number recorded in almanacs and history books. It was the number of the names of trade center victims that children uttered at the second-anniversary ceremony, there on the lip of ground zero.

Now strike that number from your mind. Replace it with 2,752.

After what officials call an exhaustive investigation that spanned the world, the city has removed more names from the official tally. The reasons are the same as in the past: finding people once thought dead; duplication; insufficient data; fraud. In many cases, investigators could not prove a supposed victim had ever existed — a jarring concept, given that some names are embedded in the collective memory.

Remember Paul Vanvelzer and his two sons, Barrett, 4, and Edward, an infant who was once thought to be the disaster's youngest victim? It seems now that the Vanvelzers, reported missing by a California woman claiming to be a relative, may have died without ever having lived.

more…
http://nytimes.com/2003/10/29/nyregion/29ABOU.html?hp

[blackcat77]

1. For a few days, the operative number was 6000

Any lowering of the number is a good thing, even if only slightly.

[grasswire]

2. what a talented writer

That story was beautifully written.