It’s impossible to fathom the fear one must feel in order to leap from a building to a certain death, and thinking about those forced to do just that on 9/11 still makes me shudder.

One image, captured by photographer Richard Drew in the moments following the attack, has always stood out from the rest. Dubbed ‘The Falling Man’, there’s something about it that polarises opinion.

From TIME below:

The photo was published in newspapers around the U.S. in the days after the attacks, but backlash from readers forced it into temporary obscurity. It can be a difficult image to process, the man perfectly bisecting the iconic towers as he darts toward the earth like an arrow.

Falling Man’s identity is still unknown, but he is believed to have been an employee at the Windows on the World restaurant, which sat atop the north tower. The true power of Falling Man, however, is less about who its subject was and more about what he became: a makeshift Unknown Soldier in an often unknown and uncertain war, suspended forever in history.

Let’s hear Richard tell his story:

[source:time]