What Does 9/11 Mean to Those Who Never Remembered It?
God • Family • Country
A generation that didn’t witness 9/11 but inherited the responsibility to remember it.
Today, we mark the 25th anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001. Yet most of our generation was not alive and, thus, has no personal memory of that day. Were you to ask the average student, they would likely tell you that their knowledge of attacks was learned from school, their parents, or via social media. Despite our lack of firsthand experience, our generation must prevent 9/11 from becoming just another historical event, relegated to the textbooks.
Just as those born years after Pearl Harbor still understood its significance, our generation has the same responsibility to remember and honor those lost on September 11. Additionally, since the country we inherited was profoundly shaped by those attacks, we must remain connected to that day even though we did not live through it. Young people today must remember the victims, understand the attacks, and especially remember the heroes of September 11: those who displayed incredible courage, some of whom made the ultimate sacrifice. Undoubtedly, September 11 was a tragic and evil day for Americans, but it also proved that even in our nation’s darkest moments, humanity and unity can endure.
On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four planes headed for the West Coast. They were routine flights, with many traveling for business, to visit their families, or to go on vacation as the summer was winding down. However, between the hours of 8:46 am and 10:03 am, terrorists crashed planes into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, PA. On that day, which will never be forgotten, 2,977 innocent people lost their lives.
While those terrorists intended to strike fear into the heart of our nation and to weaken and divide Americans, they failed. Courage, unity, and patriotism were exemplified in the days following the horrific attacks. Americans helped Americans. First responders bravely rushed into burning and collapsing buildings. Whereas the terrorist attacks demonstrated humanity at its worst, our response showed humanity at its best.
As the towers burned, thousands of people desperately tried to escape. Yet as people rushed down the stairs in a desperate attempt to reach safety, firefighters rushed up. On that day, 343 FDNY firefighters were killed, in addition to the many police officers and other heroic first responders. While rushing into those buildings, they knew that they were entering a dangerous situation and likely putting their lives at stake. Still, they entered. It didn’t matter to them that the people inside were complete strangers. At that moment, their politics, race, religion, and background didn’t matter. They were simply Americans who needed help.
Welles Crowther was only 24 years old when he found himself in the South Tower when the second plane hit. An equities trader, he had a background as a volunteer firefighter. After the plane struck the tower, he donned his signature red bandana, helping injured people and directing survivors toward the stairs. But after leading them toward safety, he went back to help more people. He is credited with helping save at least eighteen lives, but lost his own in the collapse of the tower.
Crowther was an ordinary young American who went to work simply expecting another normal day. He had no intention of becoming a hero, but the unprecedented circumstances revealed his true character. Welles Crowther, the “Man in the Red Bandana,” has remained ingrained in the fabric of our nation because of his courage and bravery. His determination to put others before himself embodies the spirit of American heroism.
After the passengers on United Flight 93 learned that the World Trade Center had been attacked, they quickly realized that their own plane had been hijacked and was being used to strike another target. Instead of remaining passive and accepting their fate, the passengers and crew decided to fight back. They tried to retake the cockpit, and the plane ultimately crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. While 40 passengers and crew members lost their lives, their actions prevented the hijackers from reaching their intended target of Washington, D.C.
These people were not soldiers or police officers. They were ordinary passengers who were suddenly faced with an extraordinary decision which we will hopefully never face. They understood the consequences of choosing action. But they also knew that the lives of other Americans on the ground depended on them, and they sacrificed their lives for Americans they would never meet.
The attacks on September 11 showed us evil in its rawest form. Terrorists driven by hatred murdered thousands of innocent people in an attempt to strike at the heart of our nation. But the attacks also showed us the best of what it means to be an American. They showed us firefighters, police officers, EMTs, brave men like Welles Crowther, and the ordinary passengers aboard Flight 93 coming together and demonstrating our nation’s resolve.
We weren’t there. And it can be easy for young people to gloss over the significance of these events, especially as they grow more distant, now a quarter of a century ago. But as the eyewitness generation grows older, the responsibility to remember is passing to us.
The phrase “Never Forget” may sound cliché. But it requires something of all of us.
We need to learn what actually happened. We need to learn the victims’ names and stories and hear survivor accounts. But most importantly, we need to learn the stories of Welles Crowther, the brave passengers and crew aboard Flight 93, and the first responders who sacrificed everything for others.
2,977 innocent victims were murdered on that day 25 years ago. They were mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, cherished community members, first responders, and ordinary people. They were strangers to one another, yet in the face of unimaginable tragedy, Americans demonstrated incredible unity.
Our generation didn’t inherit the memories of 9/11, but we did inherit its history, and the profound responsibility to remember it. Although we may be the first generation to have no memory of September 11, we must not become the first generation to forget it.