Posted on 09/13/2026 10:42:46 PM PDT by nickcarraway
"The Falling Man" is the most controversial photograph to have emerged from the September 11, 2001 attack on New York City's World Trade Center.
Taken by Richard Drew of the Associated Press - and visible at this link - the photo shows a man falling headfirst along the side of the soon-to-be-demolished 110-floor North Tower, momentarily captured in an incongruously serene pose that belies the utter surrounding chaos and his imminent demise.
When the photo ran in the New York Times and other papers across the country the following day, many readers complained and accused the publications of exploiting the unknown man's death.
Read More: How Classic Rock Responded to the 9/11 Terror Attacks
Many photographs were taken of the estimated 200 or more people who died after jumping or falling from the inescapable flame and smoke-filled upper floors of the Twin Towers during the attack.
However, after the angry response to the publication of "The Falling Man," newspapers stopped sharing these images.
"Photographs of the so-called jumpers have been rendered taboo," noted Susie Linfield of New York magazine, "vilified as an insult to the dead and an unbearably brutal shock to the living."
Elton John saw things differently. He spent two years working to acquire a print of "The Falling Man" for his collection of famous photographs, which numbered nearly 8,000 as of 2016.
“It’s the most beautiful image of something so tragic,” John told CBS News at that time. “It’s probably one of the most perfect photographs ever taken. It’s not a shot that a lot of people probably would want to hang on their wall. And we’ve never hung it on our wall.”
During the interview, John was clear that he had no reservations about collecting photographs of such tragic moments.
“No, because this is an historical event. It’s as important as the naked girl running down the road [in] Vietnam [1972's "The Napalm Girl"], and I have that. The little boy in Syria recently, just sitting there on the chair? I desperately want that photograph. And we’re trying to get it. It’s just important to have them.”
Who Was the Falling Man?
After a 2001 story in the Globe and Mail suggested that the falling man might be Noberto Hernandez, a pastry chef at the Windows on the World restaurant on the 106th floor of the North Tower, Esquire journalist Tom Junod was able to obtain several other photographs of the moment from Drew.
In a story originally published in 2003, the falling man's darker complexion and orange t-shirt led Junod to counter - but not definitively determine - that the falling man might instead be Jonathan Briley, a sound engineer employed at the same restaurant and the brother of the Village People's original "G.I.," Alex Briley.
In his own 2021 Associated Press article, "The Falling Man" photographer Drew downplayed the importance of a specific identification.
"Though his quest proved fruitless, Junod eventually concluded, as I did, that the point was moot. For we already knew the identity of the man in the picture. He was you and me."
I always picture that photo in my head this way: the man is falling head first, one leg slightly bent, but I see his soul bursting upwards towards the heavens.
What it the ground was just the shell of a man. There was nothing alive in it. He was already gone.
That’s just me though.
Commas are your friend
“We had grandma over for dinner”
“We had grandma over, for dinner”😂😂
Which is why their deaths are listed as murder, not suicide
“Which is why their deaths are listed as murder, not suicide”
A day or two ago there was a long thread about that. IIRC, it was based on something by James Woods.
I think the terrorists’ deaths were officially ruled as suicide, and the jumpers’ deaths were officially ruled as homicide or murder.
“Let’s eat, Grandma.”
“Let’s eat Grandma.”
No offense, you may truly mean it, and perhaps you are an exception, but I have a hard time accepting that morbid curiosity, particularly when it is the gruesome stuff, is normal. When it’s a passing thing, I can except it, but I pay attention when people start to get excited about it. That’s probably not you though. Hope not.
I also think it’s funny when the media decides to protect a subject, and when they decide to exploit it. (Aside from the obvious legal decisions).
I personally think it should be illegal to publish the names of serial killers and mass murderers. Mass murderers in particular seem to often do it out of some sort of sick chase of glory and desire for infamy, and I think that if we took that away from them, it not only would hurt them (the ones who live through their crimes) but also act as a deterrent to future infamy seekers.
Yeah, that’s one sick MFer right there.
Thanks for posting your thoughts and feelings.
Most people it seems would at least eventually physically leave, if they are able, the physical location in which they are being overwhelmed by smoke, or roasted, either by direct or indirect exposure to the extreme heat of a nearby conflagration.
When one thinks about it, this seems natural. It explains why so many emerged through windows high in the tower. To escape excessive heat and smoke, or, alternatively, to be able to access and breathe clear, ordinary temperature, atmospheric air. Even for a short time.
Really?
He’s keeping a collection of history that “they” want us to forget or pretend never happened.
If you read the whole article, you’d have figured that out.....unless you’re like the Strawman in the Wizard of Oz....
But, WTC7...
I agree. Preserving these images is helping to preserve accurate history, and in a strong way honors the sacrifices of the victims. I feel that this is crucial, lest we forget, become complacent, or fall prey to revisionists. The images from Auschwitz were also horrible - but necessary.
Keep smiling they will never catch on to what’s happening.
Why ‘buy’ a photo anymore? It’s available online for free
You don't want to end up like him.
😂
I agree. In fact, it’s probably good that someone is collecting these, otherwise they might be conveniently “forgotten.”
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