The events of September 11th, 2001 will never be forgotten. Whether it be in documentaries, journals that people wrote, and/or personal memories of what occurred on that horrific day.
This topic can be very hard to talk about for a lot of people as they endured more than anyone ever should in such a short period. It is important to share these stories with everyone so that we can truly live up to the saying “Never Forget."
Storytelling is powerful and it is truly evident with this topic. When you have the honor to tell people about history it is an opportunity to carry on the memory of that day and that is equally as important as any other place in history in this country.
We will forever be bonded as a nation from the tragedy of the 9/11 attacks and we all have a sense of patriotism to take with us. September 11th has not just shaped our nation for the rest of time, but the world. As long as we listen to the stories being told watch the documentaries being made, and even read the books that have been written, we will truly never forget that day in history when the United States stood still.
By Jenna Chicano
September 11, 2001 was a terrible event in American history. Nothing can put into picture how bad the attack was unless you saw it with your own two eyes.
When the first plane hit the tower, everyone thought it was an accident, but then, when the second plane hit, we knew that we were being attacked. Another plane hit the Pentagon shortly after and no one knew when this tragedy would end.
After this disaster, there began great hate for the Muslim community. Discrimination was at its all-time highest for the Muslim community.
Outside of this community, the one good thing that came out of the 9/11 attack was the kindness expressed by fellow New Yorkers because of all that people lost.
Sports had a big impact on getting things back to normal. People watched football and baseball to get their minds off of the situation.
We cannot forget all the lives lost in this. All the firefighters, policemen, and citizens' lives that were lost cannot go unrecognized.
By Tyler Yoxall
September 11th, 2001. Rebecca Cheezic was teaching third grade math at Mitchell Elementary school in Woodbury, Connecticut. In the middle of her teaching, the schools reading teacher came in and handed her a note.
The note read, "A small plane hit one of the towers of the World Trade Center. If you need coverage for your class while you go make a phone call, let us know."
She was in disbelief.
"[The school] was just confused, unsure and scared."
10 minutes later, she took her kids to art and went to the school library, where a television was positioned in the back.
This is when she finally understood what was happening. Brett Cheezic, her boyfriend, called her. There was concern for his cousin Brandon, who worked in New York. That had not even crossed her mind.
The aftermath was a very heavy and dark time.
The day after, the school held a meeting, which focused on teaching the kids about kindness, and how its okay to feel sad.
"I feel like for everybody it was kinda of just a constant state of grief and anxiety for a while."
From that day, she says one thing she will never forget are the visuals of the attacks she had seen.
"There were people that jumped out and that is still haunting and still so upsetting when you think about it. It was so bad," said R. Cheezic. "They chose to jump knowing they couldn't survive that."
Even 22 years later, just even talking about these horrible images could make her cry all over again.
By Anna Leigh
Janet Gerace, middle school teacher, was in her sixth grade classroom at Heminway Park School in Watertown, Connecticut. In the middle of teaching, one of her colleagues rushes into the room and whispers in her ear.
“A plane just hit the twin towers."
Gerace had no words. She rushed to where a television was in the school and immediately turned it on. Sweetland and her colleagues watched in awe.
Back in his house, Micheal Sweetland, her husband, was getting ready for work at Watertown Golf Club. As he got ready, M. Sweetland turned the television on. The sights he saw blew his mind.
One of the towers was in flames.
As both Sweetland and Gerace watched, the second plane flew by the camera. As they watched the plane fly by, they realized that the plane was going to hit the second tower. Both were in disbelief.
By Clara Sweetland
“I was at home at 230 St and Bailey in my apartment. I was a student at Baruch College and I was supposed to have a very important exam in the afternoon. I watched the news in the morning and I thought it was nothing serious. At the moment, I did not realize the catastrophe that the world was going through. I just remember telling my father I had an important exam that I couldn't miss. Then, I heard the news again that everything was closed around there. My college was near the attack," said Carolina Vargas, 2001 resident in New York. "It was so sad to see that millions of people were dying. It was a terrifying moment for everyone.”
“The most important part of my story is that I was home from work that day. At around 9:00 AM, my wife, at the time, called me and told me to turn on the television, so that I could see what was going on. I asked her which channel to turn on and she said ANY channel. That’s when I saw the buildings burning on TV,” said Florencio Vargas, who can deeply recall 9/11 attacks.
By Nicole Vargas
Laura DeGeorge, Emergency Medical Service Director at the Beacon Hose Co. No. 1 fire department, remembers every aching moment of that day and the weeks to follow.
“I remember getting ready for work in the emergency department at Griffin Hospital watching the news before my shift, and I physically watched the second plane go into the building," said DeGeorge. "The Emergency department was ready to take anything to the city because we didn’t know how severe the incident was or how many people were injured.”
The next morning, DeGeorge went to the city in the Beacon Hose ambulance along with Jeremy Rodrigo, a member of Beacon Hose, and Doug Bousquet, fire chief at the time of the attack.
“Beacon Hose was able to send gloves, masks, candy bars, water, and a bunch of other supplies,” said DeGeorge. “We were then evacuated from the area when they knew that building seven was going to collapse and that's when we had to go back.”
When Beacon Hose returned back to headquarters, they painted the apron of the firehouse with the American flag and they had a vigil to remember the lives lost. White candles were placed among the stars of the flag and the painting was left there until it faded from weathering.
By Emma DeGeorge
"It was very frightening; people running for their lives screaming all over and to see those planes going into the buildings," said Dorrette Findley, Mount Vernon resident at the time. "It was very scary, lots of smoke, ambulance police all over the place trains and buses could not move dead bodies all over. It was like I was watching a movie. I could not believe it was really happening. It was terrible, that day makes me know we should not take anything for granted."
By Janae Findley.
Photos provided by Laura DeGeorge.
Story organized by Hannah Mudry.