Poignant missing portrait of 9/11 victim is finally placed on memorial wall: Photograph of Antonio Dorsey Pratt, who had been working in North Tower for one week, completes tribute to 2,977 victims of terrorist horror

  • Antonio, 43, worked in an investment bank canteen on 101st floor of Tower One
  • ‘Tony’ began his job as a cook at Cantor Fitzgerald cafeteria a week before 9/11
  • His remains were identified in 2004 – and a photo took years to find and enlarge
  • Pratt became the final face on Ground Zero memorial wall for 2,977 New Yorkers 

The last missing portrait of a 9/11 victim has been placed on the Ground Zero photo wall for the 2,977 people killed on September 11.

Antonio Dorsey Pratt, 43, was a cook at an investment bank canteen on the 101st floor of the North Tower when the first plane struck.

Hijacked American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767, struck floors 93 to 99 at 8.46am on Tuesday September 11, 2001, destroying all exit staircases on the levels above.

‘Tony’ took the food service job at the Carter Fitzgerald cafeteria just a week before 9/11 – and become one of 658 Carter Fitzgerald employees killed in the attacks.

‘Tony’ Pratt, 43, became the final face added to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum photo wall

Tony (centre) is pictured on the photo wall with 2,977 New Yorkers who lost their lives on 9/11

Memorial worker Randolph Black is pictured replacing an oak leaf symbol with Pratt’s image

Pratt left behind no digital footprint, with 9/11 Memorial and Museum staff cropping, enlarging and retouching a group photo of Tony with his co-workers.

Memorial CEO Alice Greenwald said: ‘In order to focus on his beautiful face, a lot of work had to be done to zero in and enlarge and enlarge to the point where it could be appropriate for the scale of the installation.’

She added that Pratt’s inclusion, replacing an oak tree placeholder symbol, represented the end of ‘a process that began almost 16 years ago, when we began work on just even imagining what the 9/11 Memorial and Museum would be and what it would contain.’

Pratt is survived by wife Asmareli Soga, whose teenage children he helped raise.

His whereabouts became unclear after the attack, with Soga fearing the worst.

The 9/11 Memorial and Museum, built in 2006, sits between the gaps left by the fallen towers

The North Tower (right) is pictured billowing smoke across the New York City skies on 9/11 

New Yorkers were forced to sprint through downtown Manhattan streets at the buildings fell

Tony’s remains were finally found on September 11, 2004, allowing Asmareli and her son and daughter to have closure.

Soga said: ‘Now maybe he can be in peace and we can have his funeral.

‘It’s a miracle. God is good.’

Yet Soga added: ‘But after so many years, all of a sudden, I feel more hurt.

‘This is opening up old wounds again. The pain never goes away. It stays with you.’

Tony was the 1,569th 9/11 victim identified. 

The 9/11 Memorial and Museum, which stands between the two fallen towers, holds enlarged photos of the 2,977 people killed in the four Al-Qaeda attacks on New York City, the Pentagon, and the hijacked United Airlines Flight 93.

First responders sit among the wreckage of the World Trade Center in the wake of the attacks

The South Tower (left) was struck 17 minutes after the North Tower (right) was hit at 8.46am

Standing proud: the buildings of the World Trade Center (pictured in 1976, three years after completion) were a distinctive feature of the New York City skyline – and the world’s tallest

It also memorializes the six victims of the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing masterminded by Ramzi Yousef, whose uncle, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, was ‘principal architect of the 9/11 attacks’, according to the 9/11 Commission report.

United 93 was brought down by its passengers in south Pennsylvania, most likely en route to the White House. 

All 44 on board, including four Al-Qaeda terrorists, were killed.

Carter Fitzgerald, which housed its corporate headquarters and New York City office between floors 101 and 105 of the North Tower, lost more employees on 9/11 than any other firm.

CEO Howard Lutnick escaped the attack because he was taking his son to his first day of kindergarten. 

But Howard’s brother, Gary, was among 1,402 people killed in the North Tower. 

A further 614 died in the South Tower, which was hit by United Airlines Flight 175 seventeen minutes later.

Nearly 350 New York City Firefighters were slain on September 11, in addition to 23 NYPD officers and 37 Port Authority cops.

Citizens of 115 countries were among the victims. 

More than 2,000 cancer deaths since 9/11 have been attributed to toxic chemical exposure in the wake of the attacks, particularly among first responders.

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