The 9/11 Generation Reflects on Sept. 11 a Decade Later

By JOE CARLSON, EILEEN TRACY and LAUREN MENNEN

The terror attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 reshaped America’s sense of security, but more specifically, it impacted the next generation of leaders’ views on safety, terrorism and patriotism.

This new generation, called Millennials, generally consists of those born around 1980 up until 2005. Millennials are also referred to as the 9/11 Generation and Generation Y, and they make up America’s largest demographic after Baby Boomers.

Every age group in this generation has an opinion about what happened on that September day in 2001. Whether it was a recent college grad in the midst of their first job, a middle school student sitting in a classroom, or even a newborn baby born within hours of the attacks, everyone in the 9/11 Generation has an understanding today of what happened a decade ago. And it impacted how they see America in the global landscape.

““I had never really even heard of terrorism, and I was already 13, but after that it was all I seemed to notice in the media,” said Zach Virga, from Kittattiny, N.J.

Teenagers during the attacks remember that day

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, thousands of young students across the country were packing their lunch boxes and heading off to school for what they thought would be a relatively normal day.  The weather was perfect so a lot of  kids planned on after school activities. By 9 a.m. their plans would be forgotten.

“We were coming back from an assembly, we got back to class and my teacher said something about a plane hitting one of the twin towers,” said Eric Yelling, who was 14 in 2001 and still has a vivid memory about that day. “We didn’t know it was a commercial plane, and assumed it was just a small plane and an accident.”

While it seemed like it could all be a bad dream, this was the reality for all these school age kids.  Planes had just hit the World Trade Center.  Some schools went on lock down treating these events as if they happened right outside the doors. Others evacuated students, but some showed the dramatic news coverage to their students as the terrorist acts unfolded.

“The school put two televisions in the cafeteria for everyone to watch during lunch,” said Zach Virga, when he attended Kittattiny Regional High School. “It was the only time in seven years at the school they ever did something like that.”

Yelling of Newton, N.J. had a similar experience. “We spent the majority of the second half of the day watching the coverage in classes. Some teachers tried to teach, but it didn’t go very well.”

As smoke billowed through the sky, the whole event seemed like something out of a movie. “I remember watching coverage over and over again,” Yelling said, “thinking that Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone would show up at any moment. For me, it became a scene in an action movie. It didn’t seem real. I waited for the hero to come and save the day. No matter how many times I saw it, I couldn’t make sense of it being anything but a scene from a movie. I hadn’t seen anything like it, except in action movies.”

Growing up with terrorism

For many children, the word terrorism wasn’t even in their lexicon before that day. So it was difficult for them to explain.

“I genuinely began to fear how the world would continue to be safe and what repercussions there might be if the U.S. retaliated,” Virga said.

The fact that this was the first major catastrophe that many kids had ever witnessed, many could not cope with what they were seeing. According to a report done by the Columbia University School of Public Health, 75,000 students in the New York area suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder six months after the attacks. The chance of a child having this disorder was more likely if they were exposed to the continued news of what had happened.

Now 10 years later, these kids are all grown up and will always remember what happened on that beautiful September morning that turned into one of the world’s worst terrorist attacks. But for those who were born after this tragic day, they would have to learn what happened in other ways other than living through it.

[AUDIO GALLERY: Listen to some members of the 9/11 Generation recount what happened that day.]

The youngest group of the generation learn about the attacks

The generation of youngsters born during or after 9/11 would have to learn from others what happened to nearly 3,000 people who perished in lower Manhattan. Kids who are ages 10 and below today were not around for 9/11, so it was up to their teachers, parents, technology, and people around them to tell the story of this tragic event in American history.

The kids who were born in the same decade of September 11 have different knowledge of the event than those who lived through it.

Erin Tracy was born on Sept. 10, 2001 at 10:47 p.m. Eleven hours later, the first plane hit the north tower. Erin is now 10-years-old and seems to know a lot about what occurred the day after she was born.

“I heard about the pentagon and about the twin towers for a while,” said Tracy. “Two terrorists took planes and they hit both towers. It took the towers an hour to fall down.”

Tracy is now in 5th grade and is learning about the events of 9/11 in school.

“I learn a little more each year. My teacher, he mentioned it but that’s it,” Tracy said.

Gianna Adinolfi was born on April 3, 2003, close to two years after of 9/11. Gianna is now 8-years-old, and in 3^rd grade. She has a pretty good idea of what occurred on 9/11.

When asked about what she knew about 9/11 she replied, “A plane crashed into the towers.”

Adinolfi is now in the 3^rd grade and she is getting to learn about 9/11. “The school news. It is a magazine and everyone gets one and it was one of the first days of school. They had this picture of a little girl and she was ten, and it talks about the plane hitting the towers,” Adinolfi said.

John Roese was born on August 1, 2005, four years after 9/11. John is now 6-years-old and in the 1^st grade. He has little knowledge about the events of 9/11.

Roese did not know much as he did not really understand what 9/11 was but he did know 9/11 as, “the day those bad men hit the towers.”

The 9/11 memorial in New York City opened to the public on Sept. 11, 2011. Adinolfi and Roese did not know about the memorial or what a memorial was. Tracy however, did.

“The memorial is pretty and I think a lot of people will want to go see it.  I think it should have been built because it was a very important day in history,” she said.

A changed generation

According to a Detroit Free Press article experts say that the Millennial generation “would have turned out much the same – more family – and team-oriented, less worried about financial gain – without the attacks.” But experts believe that the extent of celebrations over Osama bin Laden’s death on May 2 of this year suggested otherwise. College students all over the country were overjoyed when they heard this news and many took part in celebratory activities.

Kelly Farrell was just finishing up her senior year at the University of Maryland when she heard the news of bin Laden’s death. Her friends picked her up as soon as the news broke and they drove into Washington, D.C., along with thousands of other college students to celebrate the death of the man responsible for 9/11.

“People were just pouring onto the streets with flags, and singing, and chanting, even on the White House lawn,” said Farrell. “It was a crazy scene, there were thousands of people everywhere.”

Farrell also said the bars on campus were contributing to the celebrations. There were red, white, and blue drink specials.

“There was just a sense that finally something tangible had happened since 9/11 that we could all be excited about together,” said Farrell.

According to the Pew Research Center, Millennials have shown different acts of patriotism right after the attacks from 2001-2010. One of the polls showed that older generations of Americans are more likely to “believe it is unpatriotic to criticize leaders during war” than younger ones.

Following the attacks, many enlisted in the army, or joined the police force. Ethan Mennen, who was 25 at the time of September 11, did both.

“Personally, 9/11 contributed to me joining the NYPD,” Mennen said. “I took the NYPD test in late 2001 with one of my roommates.” After a year of testing, Mennen and his roommate were hired and graduated from the academy in 2003.

Before Sept. 11, and Mennen’s major career move, he was a production manager for an advertising agency. He lived on Pearl Street in New York City, just a few blocks away from the twin towers. He wasn’t allowed back in his apartment for a week because of the debris from the towers, and seeing the damage up close had an impact on his decision.

“Part of it was the fact that I had never seen an attack on American soil up close,” said Mennen. “It forced home the fact that wars are not always fought by the military in some foreign country. There has to be a line of defense at home.”

Nine years after the attacks in March 2010, Mennen joined the army. “I had always wanted to join, but something always stopped me from doing it,” Mennen said. “I finally made the decision to join because I wanted to serve and do my part in defending the country however I was needed. I believe our mission in the ongoing wars is a righteous one, and they are a direct result of 9/11.”

Moving forward a decade later

The attacks on America on Sept. 11, 2001 united the nation like many had never seen before. It also brought together three decades worth of children, who would now share the fact that 9/11/01 shaped the way that they lived their lives going forward.

Through candlelight vigils, memorial services, and other commemorative events, many people observed 9/11 this year and remembered the heroes and the victims of Sept. 11. The country has undergone a lot of changes in this past decade, and with the 9/11 Generation, there will be many more to come.

“As a country we have to be united, and this day will once again show the importance of never forgetting Sept. 11,” said Farrell.

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