BLACK SABBATH's BILL WARD Reflects On Recent Visit To National September 11 Memorial & Museum: 'I Said Prayers And I Cried'

During Bill Ward's September 2026 show on LA Radio Sessions with Mike Stark, the BLACK SABBATH drummer reflected on his recent visit to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center in New York. Bill said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, we went there. And the reason why I wanted to go there was to see — because I hadn't been to the museum, which is fantastic, the way that they have put things together so that we will never forget. It's marvelous. I felt very sad, obviously, going through there, and it had very dark moments in there. I was with family members who — that helped a lot, passing through there.

"The biggest thing that I felt brought me peace of mind was seeing how they've built the waterfalls that fall into infinity," Bill explained. "They fall into infinity. And I think that's such a wonderful grace because if they didn't look like they fell into infinity or they landed somewhere else, there wouldn't have been a stopping point for me. But whoever designed that designed these small waterfalls, these small waterfalls, and then the large waterfall that just goes into infinity. And they did that exactly for the first and second tower.

"To be honest with you, I stayed there for some time and I said prayers and I cried," Ward added. "It's hard not to cry. But I came back from New York with some peace of mind because I had no idea how they would resolve that. How can you resolve something like that? And I know it can't be fully resolved, but at least I think, as New Yorkers always do, they do their best. They really come through, there's no doubt about it. And so what gave me some solace finally was seeing the two Twin Towers grave sites with the waterfalls falling into infinity. And I felt like I'd accomplished my journey finally to go there and see what actually happened."

Located on eight acres of the 16-acre World Trade Center complex, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum is a place of remembrance and contemplation within the bustle of lower Manhattan.

The Memorial opened on September 11, 2011, 10 years after the 9/11 attacks.

The focal points of the Memorial are two pools, each nearly an acre in size, that sit in the footprints of the former North and South Towers. The pools contain the largest manmade waterfalls in North America, each descending 30 feet into a square basin. From there, the water in each pool drops another 20 feet and disappears into a smaller, central void.

According to the architect, Michael Arad, the pools represent "absence made visible." Although water flows into the voids, they can never be filled. The sound of the cascading water makes the pools a place of tranquility and contemplation separate from the bustling noises of the city.

The names of the 2,983 people who were killed in the 2001 and 1993 terrorist attacks are inscribed on bronze parapets edging the memorial pools. The names are grouped by the locations and circumstances in which victims found themselves during the attacks. The North Pool parapets include the names of those who were killed at the North Tower, on hijacked Flight 11, and in the 1993 bombing. The South Pool parapets include the names of first responders as well as victims who were killed at the South Tower, on hijacked Flight 175, at the Pentagon, on hijacked Flight 77, and on hijacked Flight 93.

Within these groupings, names are arranged in a system of "meaningful adjacencies." Friends and colleagues appear together, as well as the crews of each of the four flights and first responder agencies and units. Additionally, during the Memorial's development, victims' next of kin were invited to request that their loved ones' names be inscribed alongside specific others. In this way, those who were connected in life reside together on the Memorial.

Approximately 400 swamp white oak trees fill the Memorial plaza around the pools. This hardy species of tree is native to the areas of all three 9/11 crash sites: New York City; Arlington, Virginia; and Somerset County, Pennsylvania.