When families of 9/11 victims assemble each year to pay tribute to those they lost in the terrorist attacks, a striking sentiment resonates: “I never got to meet you.” This phrase signifies the passing of the torch to the next generation at ground zero, where names of victims are recited annually on the anniversary of the attacks. On September 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 individuals perished as al-Qaida hijackers crashed planes into the twin towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania.
During last year’s memorial, over 140 readers, including 28 young people who were born after the attacks, participated in the ceremony. This year’s event is also expected to feature young readers, some of whom are the offspring of victims whose partners were expecting during the tragedy. These young individuals, whether nieces, nephews, or grandchildren of victims, carry with them stories, photographs, and a solemn duty to remember.
The legacy of being a “9/11 family” reverberates through the generations, as the responsibility of commemorating and comprehending the September 11 attacks will one day rest on those with no direct memories of the events. Participants like 13-year-old Allan Aldycki have taken up the mantle, honoring his firefighter grandfather and others by reading their names during the ceremony. Aldycki feels a closeness to his grandfather through this act and wishes to pass on the knowledge and significance of 9/11 to future generations.
Reading out the names of the deceased is a tradition extended beyond ground zero, observed in war memorials for fallen soldiers and remembrance events for other tragedies like the Holocaust and the Oklahoma City bombing. The Pentagon and Flight 93 National Memorial also include similar name-reading ceremonies in their commemorations. At the 9/11 Memorial in New York, relatives volunteer to read aloud the names of all the victims from the three attack sites, each sharing personal reflections on their lost loved ones.
Young participants like Capri Yarosz, who has read at the trade center ceremony twice, strive to keep their relatives’ memories alive and pass on the importance of remembrance to future generations. The children born after 9/11, like Melissa Tarasiewicz, have also grown up and taken on the duty of honoring their lost parents. Manuel DaMota Jr., who never met his father, expressed gratitude for his life and family during last year’s commemoration, joining other young adults in honoring relatives they never had the chance to know in person.
These young readers convey heartfelt messages of longing and remembrance, underscoring the solemn duty of preserving the legacy of those lost in the tragic events of September 11, 2001.
