honor
By Janice Barchat
Today is September 11th, Patriot’s Day in United States. The memorials have happened, the songs have been sung, and the day has been remembered. For those 20 and older (though I would venture to say 25 and older), it means something. We can remember where we were when we first heard of the tragic events that played out that day. Some learned of it as they watched the morning shows, others heard about it from the radio, some learned of it as they unwittingly became part of the news. They were in the buildings, on the planes, or part of those who rushed in while others fought desperately to get out. Living on the West coast, I can still remember the phone ringing as a friend from Florida called to tell me to turn on the television.
I can remember going to work that day on empty freeways in the Los Angeles area. We stood in the conference room, work didn’t matter that day, watching the news. I can still see the receptionist coming in with a scared look on her face to tell me that a Captain from the Air Force was on hold; she needed to talk to me. I still remember how, for the next week, the skies were quiet and empty. Not a plane was in the sky unless it belonged to the military. I flew to Sacramento on the first day flights were allowed. People were tense, nervous, scared to be in the airports.
These images along with many others come flooding back into my mind every year as we approach this day. I understand how people felt during the late forties and early fifties when December 7th came up on the calendar. However, for me, growing up in the late 60s and 70s, that day was just a day when announcements were made in school. Flags would be flown, but it didn’t hold much for me emotionally. I now see that starting to take hold for our young people today when the conversation becomes about 9/11.
A senior in high school today would have been no more than 3 years-old when the twin towers were hit and our country was attacked. They know about the day because it has been kept alive by parents, educators, and the media. While there is film from the attack on Pearl Harbor, the amount of material available from 9/11 is immense. Students can live that moment time and time again. We are also still fighting wars because of that day – WWII came to an end four years later. They didn’t continue living it the way we are today. Just the same, most seniors today have no personal connection to that day. I say most since some students lost family members either on that day or due to the after effects. The younger children really don’t have an understanding of what happened and why on that day. This is where we are today with an 8 year-old. She hears about the day, but doesn’t understand. She has questions, but how much does a parent share without terrifying the child. Over the last week, we have talked.
When the questions are, “Daddy – why did they do that? What happened on that day?” they must be answered. In the past, the questions weren’t there. Today they are. How do you explain it?
I will state that we did visit Shanksville last month. Most of my wife’s family were with us as we walked the field. We looked at the names. We saw the spot. Then our daughter and I broke off from the group. There was a little room with activities for children. We stopped while the rest continued. This gave us a chance to talk and question. There were a few displays that made her sad to the point that we had to stop for a while. Unlike most of her classmates, she has seen physical items left behind from the crash. She has heard the voice messages left for loved ones. She has touched the ground and looked up at the sky and wondered. Just the same. The questions come. Here is how I explained 9/11.
9/11 is an important day for our country. Some bad things happened on that day that changed us. We want to remember events of that day for different reasons. Adults will talk about different things when talking about that day. Some will tell you how they learned of it. Others will talk about what they saw. Many can remember the fear that they had that more bad things were going to happen.
It had been a long time since people had been able to do something this big (I state this big without talking about the other attacks NYC had experienced prior) in our country. Most people thought that these things happened in other places, but not here. People wondered how this happened and if it could happen again.
As for what happened… there were some people who didn’t like our country. They didn’t like how we lived and how we did things in other countries. This group of people wanted to punish us and teach us a lesson. They felt that the best way to do this was to take some airplanes and fly them into buildings. They chose the buildings because they felt that those buildings meant a lot to us. You see the buildings in New York were two tall buildings that people all around the world knew. They also chose a building in Washington where our Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard worked. Finally, we believe they wanted to use a plane to destroy our Capitol. (I use our Capitol since she has toured the building and knows that it belongs to the people) The bad people felt that by destroying these buildings it would show that they were stronger than us.
The people worked with others from other countries to make this happen. They planned for a long time. They wanted to scare us and tell the world that the United States was weak. They were able to take control of four planes. Three of the planes flew into the buildings. The fourth plane was stopped because the people on the plane found out what was going on and worked together to stop the bad people. Those people were determined not to let another building be hit. While they died fighting the bad guys, they saved so many people.
We have seen the videos of what happened to the buildings. You saw how they fell down. You know that many people died trying to get out of the buildings or in the airplanes. That was a sad day for those people, their families, and all of us in this country. But that is not what I want you to think about when you hear of 9/11. I want you to know about what happened after…
When those planes hit the three buildings, it scared everyone inside. It scared everyone around. It scared the world. But, just the same, it did not stop people from doing what they do. During that day so many firemen, firewomen, and police officers went running to help. Those men and women knew that the buildings were on fire. They knew that parts of the buildings were already falling down, but they knew that people were in danger. They knew that mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers of other people were in those buildings and needed their help. They stepped up and went in to save as many people as they could. They did not stop and think that it was too dangerous or scary. They knew that they were putting themselves in danger and still went in. Many of those men and women did not come out that day.
The whole country came to a stop that day. We didn’t worry about sports and which team was winning or losing. We didn’t worry about movies and singers. We came together as a country that day. The color of skin didn’t matter, whether you were a man or woman meant nothing, none of the stuff that people argue about every day mattered. What mattered was that we were one country that day. People came together and talked and checked on each other. For a while, we became a stronger country because we worked to discover what we could do for one another as a people.
I still remember a commercial that came out a week later telling about how the bad people wanted to change our country. At the start of the commercial, it showed a tree lined street. The words about their want to change us came across the screen. They disappeared and the words, They did! came across. You saw the same street, but every house now flew a flag.
The thing that I want you (our daughter) and your friends to know about 9/11 is that we can be one country.
Yes. Bad people did bad things.
Yes. People will try to do things to us again.
No. we do not know when they will try, but no that there are many men and women working every day to stop as many of them as possible.
No. You should not be afraid. You need to live your life. Go after those dreams that you have. When you stop living because you are afraid – well that is when the bad people win. Don’t let them control your life.
No. We are not the same people we were on those days. While people will not forget what happened and how they felt, normal life has pushed those feelings aside.
Yes. Those brave men and women are still around us each and every day. They will still go running into the buildings when others are running out. They will give their own lives to help others continue living. They deserve to be remembered each year, each month, each day, each hour, each minute, and each second. You or some of your friends may choose to become one of those people.
Finally, I would tell them not to forget 9/11. This was a day that changed our country. We learned that bad people can hurt us, but when the people of this country stand together – we can survive and be strong.