While millions of Americans watched the 9/11 attacks unfold on television, the Marisa family of Waynesburg was living every parent’s nightmare. Waynesburg College basketball coach Rudy Marisa and his wife, Jackie, knew two of their sons were working near the sites. Kurt was inside the Pentagon. Another, Kent, was in New York City next to the World Trade Center.
The family waited desperately for hours before they received the news that both were safe. Their experience drew national attention and forever connected the family to one of the darkest days in American history.
In addition, our local children who watched television in elementary school classrooms are now parents themselves. High school students from that day are approaching middle age. That’s why this anniversary matters.
The 25th anniversary is not simply about remembering the past. It is about ensuring the next generation understands why Americans promised they would “Never Forget.”
Greene County’s response reflected the best of small-town America. Volunteer firefighters stood ready in case they were called. Churches filled with people seeking comfort and prayer. American flags appeared on front porches and businesses overnight.
Communities gathered, not because they had all the answers, but because they needed one another.
In the weeks and months that followed, many young men and women from Greene County answered another call to service. Some enlisted in the military. Others joined local police departments, emergency medical services or volunteer fire companies. The attacks reshaped countless lives and influenced career choices for an entire generation.
Remembering is more than observing a moment of silence. It’s about telling the stories of the firefighters who climbed the stairs of the World Trade Center while others fled. It is remembering police officers, emergency medical personnel and ordinary citizens who placed others before themselves.
It is honoring the passengers aboard United Flight 93, whose courage prevented even greater loss of life. Their actions, only a short drive from Greene County, remain one of the most extraordinary examples of selflessness in American history.
It is also remembering the military members who served during the decades that followed, many of whom came from our communities.
Around here, we have long recognized the importance of honoring those who serve.
Every generation inherits stories that define a nation. Generation X remembers September 11.
Now it is their turn to tell those stories. As time passes, anniversaries become less about those who remember firsthand and more about those learning the history for the first time. The responsibility shifts from witnessing to teaching.
Twenty-five years later, the smoke has long cleared, the skylines have been rebuilt and new generations have come of age. But the promise Americans made in those difficult days remains unchanged.
Not because we wish to relive the tragedy, but because remembering the courage, compassion and unity that followed reminds us of who we are at our very best.
