The Ground Zero Museum "Recovery Collection”All Images ©Gary Suson | Official Photographer at Ground Zero, FDNY

Genesis 11: Tower of Babylon Bible Page Found at Ground Zero Winter, 2002.

FDNY Honor Guard Recovery of A Fallen Firefighter from Ladder-4, Engine-54 Spring 2002.

The "World Trade Center Cross" Two Large Steel Beams Fall from the 67th Floor of WTC and Land in the Shape of a Cross.

"Oscar Prays at Sunrise" Iconic 9/11 Image of an FDNY Firefighter Saying a Prayer Before He Digs at 7:00 AM. Late Spring, 2002.

Portrait of FDNY Firefighter Lee Ielpi cradling the Recovered Helmet of His Fallen Firefighter Son, Jonathan Ielpi of Squad 288. Spring 2002.

FDNY's Ed Walsh of Squad 41 Makes One Final Push and Grimaces as He Attempts to Free the Body of A 9/11 Victim Pinned . Spring 2002

Official Ground Zero Photographer Gary Suson Walks Thru Mud Behind the FDNY Honor Guard Headed Toward The Chaplain Who WIll Say Prayer. Late Spring 2002

Sepia Image of Collapse of World Trade Center North Tower at 10:28AM on September 11, 2001. Photographed from A Roof in Manhattan's Meatpacking District.

An assortment of unique artifacts lay in the rubble of the “transfer station” at Ground Zero before being disposed of.

Photographer Gary Suson sits at the bottom of the military exit ramp in Spring, 2002 and cleans his Mamiya Medium Format camera. Suson, who shot officially on behalf of the Uniformed Firefighters Association was the only photographer permitted 24/7 access to every single area of the World Trade Center site, including the subway system and other highly restricted areas.

Official Ground Zero Photographer Gary Suson takes a break to shoot a portrait of Photographer Joel Meyerowitz in the Spring of 2002. Meyerowitz came down to the WTC site every few weeks to shoot landscape and architectural images. ©Ground Zero Museum Collection

In the waning Spring days of the "Recovery” at Ground Zero, 2002, Photographer Joel Meyerowitz is photographed focusing on a shoe near the excavated PATH Subway station by Official Ground Zero Photographer Gary Suson. Suson & Meyerowitz rarely crossed paths while documenting WTC. ©GZMW

The “Commuters Car” bar sits quietly preserved 100 feet below Ground Zero in the PATH subway station, covered in WTC ash Winter 2002.

Just days after photographing the “Commuter's Car” bar deep below Ground Zero in the subway, the cement flooring gives way and the bar collapses.

“The Bathtub” at Ground Zero referred to when the cement slurry wall, which kept the water out from the Hudson river - cracked - allowing water to seep into Ground Zero.

The finest known and closest image of the actual victim’s names scrawled into the Ground Zero Cross (WTC Cross) by FDNY, NYPD & PAPD rescue workers before time and rust eventually covered them up. Photographer Gary Suson climbed up a 20-foot ladder to a platform to stand just below the Cross to capture this image.

FDNY Firefighters charge up a steep dirt hill to bring the body of a fallen firefighter up to ground level where the Chaplain can say prayer. Spring 2002

Charred/Burnt fire hoses and tools recovered from an FDNY firetruck pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center.

FDNY Battalion Chief Joseph Pfeifer’s Truck is found in the WTC Rubble. late Spring, 2002

Blue office carpeting from a floor of the World Trade Center sits entangled in rebar wire used to support the floors when WTC was built.

The tool shed at the Ground Zero site was “guarded” by a firefighter named Tommy who was careful about where tools and supplies wound up.

FDNY Battalion Chief William Hines was one of several firemen who worked the entire Recovery at Ground Zero, from 9/11 through closing ceremonies in May of 2002.

Closing ceremonies at Ground Zero on May 30, 2002 included a truck driving the “Last Beam” out of the World Trade Center site.

Gary Suson shoots FDNY Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta’s portrait at Ground Zero in the Spring of 2002.

September, 2001. An NYPD officer guards one of 27 secured entrances to the World Trade Center site.

Laying in the dirt at Ground Zero is the remnant of a piece of metal used by an ironworker to cut out a cross as a memento.

Ground Zero circa December, 2001. The largest machines in the world were brought in to assist in the “Recovery Period”.

Father Brian Jordan was a Chaplain at Ground Zero who worked on behalf of the NYPD.

FDNY Battalion Chief Thomas Danz surveys Ground Zero on a rainy, mud-filled night at Ground Zero. The giant slurry wall can be seen in the background. Winter, 2001

FDNY Firefighter Gibby Craig of Squad 41 tries get his footing as he stands on huge telephone wires while searching for victims of the 9/11 attacks.

Bifocals sit in the dirt at the bottom of Ground Zero. Winter 2001

The Ground Zero site seen from inside the PATH subway station at Ground Zero. March, 2002

FDNY Firefighter Gibby Craig, a mainstay at Ground Zero who dug endlessly for victims wears Hawaiian Leis donated from Hawaii during closing ceremonies.

In Spring of 2002 Firefighters carry the remains of two FDNY firemen out of Ground Zero during the “Honor Guard”.

An FDNY Lieutenant from E-54 helps carry one of his fallen brothers in the “Honor Guard” at Ground Zero. Spring, 2002

A K-9 Recovery Dog picks up the smell of a victim at WTC and digs furiously.

NYPD K-9 Recovery Dog “ATLAS” pauses for a photo at Ground Zero.

Nino Vendome graciously fed 9/11 workers, NYPD and firefighters for free at his restaurant on Canal Street.

A photo of President Richard Nixon sits in the rubble and dirt of Ground Zero. The photo was most likely from the Secret Service, which had an office inside the WTC.

An image taken moments after a civilian places an American flag inside the shirt pocket of an NYPD Officer on West 14th street. September 12, 2001

Port Authority Police Officer Jimmy Cronin digs tediously for victims at Ground Zero. Spring, 2002

Eyes closed in respect, an FDNY Battalion Chief holds his Motorola walkie talkie out in front of the Chaplain’s mouth for the prayer ceremony over a recovered victim.

A very private moment caught on film below the exit ramp. FDNY Fire-fighters near the slurry wall crowd around the body of a fallen company member as the Chaplain says prayer. Image by Gary Suson

FDNY Firefighter Bob Barrett holds a donated Dalmatian puppy named “20” - after his firehouse - Ladder 20 in New York City.

FDNY Captain Bill Butler takes a break from digging to talk with friend Pete Bondi 80 feet down in the epicenter of Ground Zero. Captain Butler, a mainstay at the WTC site, was kind & compassionate. He passed away in 2013 of lung disease.

FDNY Firefighters bow their heads in respect as the Chaplain reads prayer over the body of a fellow firefighter. This image was used as the cover of Requiem: Images of Ground Zero. Spring 2002

According to Gary Suson, this was the closest he ever got while shooting. He was allowed to walk in the honor guard with firefighters and document from inches away. In this image, FDNY Jack Tipping carries his firefighter son out of Ground Zero. Spring 2002

Known as the “Black Widow” of Ground Zero, the Deutsche Bank Building stands cloaked in a black veil. The building housed 750 bone fragments of 9/11 victims on the roof until discovered in 2005. The building also claimed the lives of two FDNY firefighters in a vicious 2007 fire.

The largest trucks and machinery in the world were brought in to assist in the Recovery at Ground Zero. It was a 24/7 operation in freezing cold weather. It was also an FDNY operation on PAPD property.

In the late Spring of 2002, FDNY Battalion Chief Joseph Pfeifer’s SUV was recovered in the rubble. The first to arrive & set up command at WTC, Chief Pfeifer had parked it on the promenade just minutes after the first plane struck the North Tower.

From Gary Suson’s “Band of Dads” series: Mike Geidel, father Paul Geidel and Ralph Geidel. Missing from the photo is FDNY Rescue-1 Firefighter Gary Geidel, who died at the World Trade Center. The three men dug nine months for their missing sibling. Ralph Geidel passed away in October of 2014.

“Rescue” - The back of retired FDNY Lt. Paul Geidel’s helmet, circa 1950’s. Paul Geidel served in the Korean War and most of his career at the famed Rescue-1 firehouse in Manhattan. He is the proud father to FDNY firefighters Mike Geidel, Gary Geidel and Ralph Geidel.

FDNY Deputy Chief Bob Busch, a fixture at Ground Zero during the Recovery. He was also an expert on the many details of the inner workings of the WTC site.

A birds-eye view of what it was like to dig for the missing at the World Trade Center site. Just inches away, Gary Suson captures the intricate digging for human remains by FDNY and Port Authority Police Department personnel. Winter 2002.

“FDNY Salute” - The Ground Zero Honor Guard. Firemen and Cops line up to salute the recovered remains of World Trade Center victims. Pictured in this image are FDNY Lt. Denis O’Berg, FDNY Capt. Bill Butler, FDNY Lt. Paul Geidel and FDNY Firefighter Ralph Geidel. Many of these men made up the “Band of Dads.”

FDNY Firefighters line up and stand guard over the body of a recovered FDNY Firefighter, awaiting the Chaplain to read prayer over his remains. Spring 2002.

An abstract view of FDNY Firefighters along with an NYPD officer carrying the remains of an FDNY Firefighter out of Ground Zero, their boots dragging along wet concrete and rubble.

A Chaplain at the ready, his finger locked inside the Bible to the page he will read seconds later over the body of a recovered FDNY Firefighter at Ground Zero. Spring 2002

A twisted World Trade Center sign sits in the rubble of Ground Zero, near the demolished PATH subway tunnels.

Firefighters gently and carefully tuck an American flag around the remains of a civilian recovered in the Spring of 2002 at Ground Zero.

Through harsh Winter conditions, FDNY Firefighters dig through rubble and twisted wires to search for the missing victims of the September 11 attacks. January 2002

As seen from 9th Avenue in the Meatpacking District, a huge mushroom cloud of smoke rises high above lower Manhattan just seconds after the first tower collapses on September 11.

Two crushed FDNY fire trucks sit in the rubble of Ground Zero with the WTC facade and smoke looming in the background. Sunday, September 16, 2001.

A “Stokes Basket” sits in the dirt foreground as FDNY Firefighters begin to recover victims below the “Tully Road.” Recoveries began within one hour of the road being shut down. The new military exit ramp looms in the background.

Two British Fire Officers from the Hereford & Worcester Fire Brigades in England show up at Ground Zero willing and ready to lend a helping hand.

FDNY firefighters recover a 2nd 9/11 victim in just minutes from an area near the Cortlandt Street subway station. American flags were used to cover all 9/11 victims.

Through the mud comes the Honor Guard for a fallen firefighter, lead by the Chaplain and two FDNY officers. Spring 2002

“The Look” - A female paramedic glares into the camera seconds before she makes her way down the dirt hill to cover a victim with an American Flag. Many who worked at WTC had what was called “The Look” - an emotionless glazed stare.

Firefighters, Police Officers and Recovery personnel stand at attention and salute as the Chaplain leads the body of a 9/11 victim up the military exit ramp at Ground Zero. Spring 2002

FDNY Battalion Chief Stephen Zaderiko holds his Motorola mic up to Rev. Lyndon Harris who says prayer over the body of a 9/11 victim as construction workers bow their heads. Winter 2002

Official Ground Zero Photographer Gary Suson’s iconic image of FDNY Firefighters marching through the mud of Ground Zero to bring home a fallen firefighter. Winter 2002

Known as the “Ghost Train” of Ground Zero, Gary Suson discovered and photographed this subway car deep below Ground Zero in January of 2002. Here it sits in the open after being pulled from the tunnels. It was the last subway train to pull into WTC on the morning of 9/11.

“Today is Tuesday September 11” - the iconic calendar page discovered deep in the catacombs of the PATH subway tunnels by Gary Suson. Located in an office used to navigate the arrival of oncoming trains, it had slid off the wall from the moisture and mold. This image was featured worldwide on CNN and FOX.

Photographed from a roof on West 14th street in the Meatpacking District, smoke billows out of the World Trade Center. Minutes later, the Tower would collapse.

“Big Frank” was the man credited with discovering the famed “Ground Zero Cross.” Two giant, steel i-beams that broke off from WTC landing in the shape of a cross.

A water truck sits atop a dirt hill to cool down temperature on hot beams, to keep dry dust from swirling into worker’s eyes and to put out fires if needed.

A demolished van sits inside a shredded parking garage next to the PATH Train station. Tangled rebar wire hangs down. Winter 2002

“The Last Beam” - Widely recognized as the strongest image ever shot of the Last World Trade Center Beam, it shows clearly the size ratio of man to beam along with the American flag blowing atop. Photographed at about two in the morning from atop the 10-10 firehouse. Spring 2002

FDNY Battalion Chief Jim Riches, who worked with Gary Suson at Ground Zero, is photographed by Mr. Suson holding his fallen firefighter son’s (Jimmy Riches) recovered helmet in his left hand. The image was shot just days after Recovery operations ended at The World Trade Center. Image copyright: Gary Suson