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Sunday, September 10, 2006

"2996 Tribute" ~ Remembering Patrice Braut ~















I am the 1507th blogger participating in the “2996 Tribute Project”. Thousands of bloggers are individually honoring one of the 2996 people who died on September 11, 2001.

I am only a single voice; a single life.

And so was Patrice Braut, a young man from Brussels, Belgium. He was a man who had dreams. One of his dreams was to come and work in America.

I do not know if any of the other contributors to this project had met their “assignment” or not. I had never met Patrice Braut while he was living.

In looking for information about this young man, I was struck by the silence.

There is no longer a continuation of history of this man’s life.


The forward movement of time has stopped for Patrice Braut; the clock is no longer moving, and there is nothing tangible left of his life here on earth.


He no longer stands in the sun and his shadow has disappeared.


Patrice was his parents’ only child. He was a child that was held even more precious than most; because he was the only baby who survived out of his mother’s four pregnancies.


His mother, Paola, has cried for four dead children now.


Patrice Braut worked for the Marsh & McLennan Companies. He was one of 295 people that were employed by the company who died on September 11, 2006. The company occupied the 93rd through the 100th floors in the WTC 1 building. Patrice was on the 97th floor.

Marsh & McLennan Companies have placed a memorial at their new offices for their colleagues who died. They also have put a scholarship fund in place at Patrice’s childhood school in Belgium, Lycee Theodore Bracops. The scholarship is to be awarded for the most tenacious student.

Patrice has been described as being a leader as well as a fun loving and caring person. There are but a few comments left on 9.11 memorial sites in memory of Patrice Braut. Could it be because many of his friends and colleagues all died with him?

However from what evidence that there is of Patrice Braut’s life, one gets the sense that this young man was more than just a good person. He was not only a caring individual, but he also encouraged those he was around. Patrice is described as being “joyously tenacious”. He also had a girlfriend named Lupe. They had started looking for a place for the two of them to move into the week-end before he was killed.

Patrice was attending Pace University and was working on his MBA when he was killed.

It is evident that he was an achiever. A person who had yet to fully leave his legacy with the world; he had yet to cast his shadow upon his accomplishments.

The attack on September 11, 2001, not only murdered Americans, but many other peoples from numerous other countries. However, Patrice Braut was the only person killed who was from Belgium.

In response to the attack on New York City, the country of Belgium was there for the United States with an immediate response as well as tangible aid. Of the many offers of blood donations, money, emergency teams, as well as an expert to help identify the remains of the victims; the country of Belgium also collected and sent $12,000 for the Engine 8 Ladder 2 Association in New York. Additionally, the Royal Belgian Fire Fighters Relief Fund collected 25,000 euros from around the country for the New York 9/11 Disaster Relief Fund.

These acts lead one to believe that there is a commonality among man; an understanding of loss and of death.

I did not need to personally know Patrice Braut for he was a son of a loving mother; that is a commonality that I share with her.


On Monday, September 11, 2006, Patrice Braut’s parents again feel the painful wounds that were left by his death.

They won’t be able to see the son that they loved so dearly.

They won’t be able to hold him.

They will never hear his voice call their names.

Their chests won’t swell with pride at his accomplishments.

For they’ll never see him stand in the sun again…

Patrice Braut’s shadow is no more.


Light a Candle in September


America Attacked

Remember 9/11

Never Forget...

Pondering...

20 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

TJ. You did a wonderful job with your tribute of Patrice.

I'm surprised, as I raed these, of all the help we received from other countries, that I knew nothing about. Just as I have been surprised at how many people from other countries joined on to help us with this tribute.

I think we will all learn many things from doing this.

There may not have been much info out there about Patrice for you to find. But, thanks to you there will now be fresh information for others to find when they search his name.

Thank you for doing this.

September 10, 2006 9:43 PM  
Blogger It's me, T.J. said...

Thank you also for your contribution.

It was an honor.

September 10, 2006 10:18 PM  
Blogger Dr. A said...

Well done. We will never forget.

September 10, 2006 11:13 PM  
Blogger Sue said...

TJ: This is an excellent tribute to Patrice - very heartfelt and touching.

Sue

September 11, 2006 4:44 AM  
Blogger Dreaming again said...

An excellent tribute indeed.

How very sad for his mother.

I'm glad for his family that he had a voice in your blog. No one's voice should ever be permanently silenced.

September 11, 2006 9:11 AM  
Blogger It's me, T.J. said...

Thank you Dr. A, Sue, and Peggikaye...

We will never forget; but in turn, we should never let our children and grandchildren forget either.

September 11, 2006 11:11 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

No never forgotten..
thanks T.J

September 11, 2006 12:01 PM  
Blogger It's me, T.J. said...

Thank you, Wolfbaby.

September 11, 2006 3:24 PM  
Blogger Smalltown RN said...

TJ....

What a wonderful tribute....I have read so many of these tributes over the past couple of days...and each one the tears come....No we will never forget....

Thank you for participating in this project and for remembering Patrice...

god bless..

September 11, 2006 7:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I was searching for info on my friend who was killed on United 175, somehow that search led me here. I had no idea of this project by the bloggers. What a wonderful thing. Patrice continues to have a voice, and now I shall spread the word to others of your work.

Thank you

It was moving and powerful. I cant wait to read about my friend Al.

September 11, 2006 9:02 PM  
Blogger The Domesticator said...

TJ: What a great comment from anonymous! :)
It really makes a difference to those people who lost loved ones that day to be honored by this tribute. You did a nice job with this. I am sure his family and friends would appreciate it.

September 12, 2006 7:23 AM  
Blogger Lea said...

Well done, thank you!

September 12, 2006 7:39 AM  
Blogger It's me, T.J. said...

Thank you for your kind comments Mary Anne, Pattie, and Lea.

To "Al's Friend"...

I am so glad that you were able to find out about the "2996 Project". Every tribute that I have read has been very touching and heartfelt. I am sure that your friend's tribute is as well.

God Bless You.

September 12, 2006 10:52 AM  
Blogger gordaboo said...

Thank you for your kind words and letting me see a person and not just a name. Patrice will be remembered.

I remember Lisa Egan

September 12, 2006 11:42 PM  
Blogger Kristy said...

What a wonderful tribute!! Another face, another human story told, not just a number.
Thank you for sharing!!

I remember Simon Weiser

September 13, 2006 8:37 AM  
Blogger Auntie Lyn said...

Thank you for this loving tribute to Patrice. The picture of him and his fiancee Lupe is priceless. My thoughts and prayers go out to his parents, and Lupe in dealing with their loss.
Rest well Patrice,
Auntie Lyn
Carl Asaro

September 13, 2006 6:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I can add some info for you. I worked with Patrice at MMC. I first met Patrice when I was a new hire, in 1997. There were two teams, ours, which was web application development, and the team that Patrice was on, which was a support group of some kind. Since there were only 8 of us total between two groups, we became fast friends. A funny story about Patrice was that he had to return to Brussels to straighten out some immigration issues. On the Monday he was supposed to come back to work, there was no Patrice. A few hours later, we received word that there was a problem with his visa and they were working it out. This went on for about a month or two but we always held a spot for him and eventually, he did return. When he finally did make it back, his reaction was as if he had just been away for the weekend. We all remarked that he handled it very well, which went along with his very cool demeanor. Patrice never got worked up or excited, he had a very patient methodical way of working things out. The last converations we had were of home ownership, he was interested in buying a house and as I had just purchased one myself, he had a lot of questions. One thing you could always appreciate about Patrice is that he would listen to what you had to say. What the real shame here is, not only with Patrice, you had a lot of people from other countries just starting their lives here in America. Good people looking to further their career, buy homes and start familes. Unfortunately for someone like Patrice, with no other living siblings, his blood line stopped on 9/11. Who will know of the Brauts 100 years from now without descendants? Very sobering thought. Thanks for your blog and for allowing us to comment.

January 24, 2007 7:52 PM  
Blogger It's me, T.J. said...

Thank you for taking the time to share.

God Bless.

January 24, 2007 8:37 PM  
Anonymous Brat said...

Today, Patrice's remains have been identified:

http://assolutatranquillita.blogspot.ca/2014/09/911-remains-identified-patrice-braut.html

September 25, 2014 5:35 AM  
Anonymous itsmetj said...

Thank you so very much for letting me know.

September 25, 2014 6:09 PM  

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