Being a 9/11 Family: The Memory That Passes From Generation to Generation

“All my life, my father said I reminded him of you.”

“I wish I had something more of you than just a picture in a frame.”

“Even though I’ve never met you, I’ll never forget you.”

These are the sentences of children and grandchildren of people who diedSeptember 11, 2001 in the collapse of the Twin Towers. TheAssociated Press On the eve of the 23rd anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center, he collected the voices of the relatives of the victims, almost three thousand, who every year read the names of those who lost their lives at Ground Zero.

This year’s celebration will feature the voices of young people. Last year, there were 28 of 140 readers. Some are children of victims whose partners were pregnant. Most of the young readers are grandchildren of the victims. He says theAssociated Press who have inherited stories, photos and a sense of solemn responsibility. “Being a ‘9/11 family’ reverberates across generations, and commemorating and understanding the September 11 attacks will one day fall to a world that has no direct memory of them.”

Allan Aldycki, 13, has read the names of his grandfather and several others over the past two years and plans to do so on Wednesday. His grandfather, Allan Tarasiewicz was a firefighter. They have a room at home with his memories. Melissa Tarasiewicz had just graduated high school when her father died. The boy said last year that he has heard so much about his grandfather that he feels like he knows him, but he still wishes he had had the chance to actually know him. Allan volunteered to be a reader because it makes him feel closer to his grandfather and he hopes to have children who will participate.

On the anniversary of 9/11, a ceremony at the Pentagon, where one of the hijacked planes crashed, features military members and officials reading the names of the 184 people killed there. The Flight 93 National Memorial has relatives and friends of the victims read the list of the 40 passengers and crew members whose lives ended near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

The hour-long observance at the September 11 Memorial in New York is devoted almost exclusively to the names of the 2,977 victims at all three sites, plus the six people killed in the 1993 World Trade Center attack. All are read by relatives who volunteer. Each is assigned a list of names. Readers usually also speak briefly about their own fallen relatives.

“I often think about how, if you were still here, you would be one of my best friends,” Capri Yarosz said. grandson of New York firefighter Christopher Michael Mozzillo. The family still mentions it in everyday conversation. Capri read twice at the World Trade Center ceremony. “It means a lot to me to be able to keep my uncle’s name alive and continue to read the names of all the others, so that many future generations will know. It feels good to be able to pass on the importance of what happened.” Her two younger sisters have also read names, and one is preparing to do so again Wednesday. Their mother, Pamela Yarosz, has never been able to do so.

Callaway Treble, 18, says her generation of families who were victims of 9/11 must carry on the memory of the victims. She lost her aunt Gabriela Silvina Waisman, an office manager for a software company. “We always use the term ‘never forget’ about 9/11, but to practice that and make sure we don’t forget that thousands of people died in an attack on our country is extremely important. So I feel like it’s our responsibility to do that,” said Treble, who has read the names repeatedly since she was 13.

About 100 Children of 9/11 Victims Were Born After that the attacks killed one of their parents and they are now young adults. “Even though we never met, I am honored to carry your name and your legacy. I thank you for giving me this life and this family,” Manuel DaMota Jr. said of his father during last year’s ceremony.