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American Morning

Story of Statue that Gained in Stature When Trade Center Came Tumbling Down

Aired December 12, 2001 - 08:55   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: It was an eerie image in the aftermath of the World Trade Center collapse, a businessman, covered in dust, checking the contents of his briefcase.

Jeanne Moos has the story of a bronze survivor of ground zero.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the story of a statue that gained in stature when the World Trade Center came tumbling down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, he survived, and that's wonderful.

MOOS: His name is Double Check, and those who encountered him that day must have done a double take. They must have thought that he was a person who was in shock. This is what double check looked like on September 11th. Jeff Mermelstein took this now-famous photograph for "The New York Times."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right place, right time kind of thing, and the picture's a good picture, and I'm proud of it.

MOOS: Proud, but surprised at the attention it got. E-mails and letters, even a poem, praise from strangers and relatives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He congratulated me on making the picture of the century.

MOOS: It wasn't long until rescue workers made a shrine out of Double Check, leaving everything from notes to hats.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the least I can do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My God.

MOOS: By the time Double Check's creator, sculptor J. Seward Johnson, got to ground zero weeks later.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You couldn't see him practically, and he was sort of buried in love.

Johnson plans to cast the mementos in bronze and weld them onto Double Check as a permanent tribute. He wants to add a finish that mimics the ash-covered look.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just figured that he was gone.

MOOS: Johnson, an heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune, says Double Check reminds him of a Japanese statue that survived two miles from the epicenter of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. A gift of the Japanese government, the statue now stands in front of a Buddhist church in New York.

There are actually a total of eight Double Checks in existence.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just want to see what he looks like without his hat.

MOOS: One art expert called it weird that such a forgettable work should become so poignant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Forgettable, yes, it made me angry at first.

MOOS: But Johnson says his statues are supposed to blend in, to take you by surprise.

One ground zero volunteer said of Double Check...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: he represented the body of all the people who didn't have bodies.

MOOS: The Taliban may have succeeded in blowing up ancient Bhuddas in Afghanistan, but time hasn't run out for this bronze businessman.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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