It was a bright, blue September morning. That’s what nearly everyone remembers first. The day that became known as one of our nation’s darkest started out as a cloudless, sunny day. But this infamous day, memorialized by so many, is one that I did not experience for myself.
They say history is written by the victorious, but what does victory really look like in the face of senseless evil, unknown fear, and changes that forever both united and altered the way our country functions? Each one of us has the duty to preserve history the way it really happened, all memory gaps, confusion, and personal differences intact.
That is why the people who shared their most intimate memories of September 11, 2001 with me were not renowned international journalists, military personnel, or even survivors of the direct acts of terror taken to the primary target areas.
No, the subjects who shed the most light on this fateful day were, at the time, children. These now-working professionals were once students sitting in their classrooms in shock, confusion, fear, and sadness, emotions universal to the human race.
Nurse practitioner Valerie Matychus places herself right back in time as she remembers the commotion that began around the time the first tower collapsed her sophomore year of high school.
“This was the time before everyone had cell phones, but we did have TVs in the classrooms,” she explains. “ At the time, I didn’t know much about politics or what would lead someone to commit such horrible acts of violence. All the teachers were instructed to turn off their TVs so we couldn’t see what was happening.”
Rather than leaving the students in the dark, however, Valerie’s history teacher, Mr. Kramer, decided to leave the TV on because “what was happening in the world right now was more important than anything he could teach from a book…he told us this would be something we’d remember for the rest of our lives, and he wasn’t wrong!”
“I will forever remember in the days after the attacks, all of the videos shown and audio clips from the survivors and all of the memorials that appeared overnight around the country, ” Valerie states of the aftermath.
“I remember the President addressing the nation about the attacks and this feeling of overwhelming sadness from everyone, everywhere. Time just felt like time stopped, and it was the only thing everyone could focus on or discuss.”
Meanwhile, another fellow classmate was seated just a hallway down when the tragedy struck.
“I was in Mrs. Gabaletto’s room when we found out,” shares Julia Pascuzo. “She was a very humorous teacher and always made things light. That day, when she got off a call on her desk phone, I remember her saying, ‘Children, our nation is under attack.’”
Julia went on to explain that the students didn’t take this statement seriously at first. But that day, the horrific news was all too real, and the nation truly was under attack.
Reflecting on those moments today, Julia remembers how differently every teacher handled the events that proceeded that day. Those wildly varying approaches have given her more empathy both in her personal life and in her career as a public defender.
“One teacher stopped classes for the day just so we could all talk about what was happening,” she says. Others simply turned on the projector and resumed notetaking as usual. “It has made me realize that not everybody processes things just like I do, and that doesn’t mean they’re wrong.”
Every generation has a moment that individuals can collectively remember specifics of the experience up to the clothing worn, the music playing, and the people nearby: the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Kennedy’s assassination, the start of the COVID pandemic.
Valerie recalls the emotions she and her classmates experienced around the Shanksville plane crash: “I remember being a little afraid because when the plane crashed in Pennsylvania. I thought maybe something could hit our area, too.”
But thanks to the brave individuals aboard Flight 93, Pennsylvania did not experience the attack that could have come. Their sacrifice, and those of military personnel, first responders and the nearly 3,000 civilians ensured that freedom survived. This fall, as we “Never Forget,” let’s also remember that preserving our history and pursuing truth is something that is always worth fighting for.
