September 11th Remarks
By Emily Sangervasi
Classic hero, group hero, tragic hero, sacrificial hero, reluctant hero. Whichever
way you look at it, every American had to be a hero on September 11th.
My name is Emily Sangervasi and I was one of the three hundred million
Americans to feel the people around me come together in a crisis on that tragic day. I
would like to share with you some information about the heroes of that day. When
defining a hero, one characteristic is someone who is admired for his or her actions,
someone who sacrifices something for another, and also someone who feels called to a
certain position in life. September 11’s heroes embodied these characteristics. They were
the firefighters, policemen, men and women in the towers, reporters on the scene, and
people all over the country who immediately acted in response to the tragedy. Their
courage made up for the cowardice of the terrorists who tried to tear Americans apart.
The New York Times states, “They were heroes by choice, they were heroes by
chance. They were loved, and they were lost.” Also published in the New York Times,
was Michael Edwards Roberts’ story. He was a firefighter who lost his life trying to save
others on September 11th. Michael was described as the “the psychologist” in his
firehouse, because of his willingness to always listen to others and help them when they
needed his advice. From the time Michael was 4, his life was a countdown until he could
get into the Fire Academy. Michael had a calling, loved his job, and died doing what he
did best. Helping others. He used to tell his peers and family that the only decision he had
to make was whether to grow up, or become a firefighter. This man was called to do
something for his country, accepted the challenge like a true hero, and will never be
forgotten.
Many of the heroes from September eleventh were not so likely. Fearless New
York reporters ran through the streets of Manhattan with cameras and journals despite the
fact that they knew their loved ones were the victims in the buildings. Rescue workers
with stretchers raced through the mobs of scared people not even thinking twice about
doing their job that day, despite the grave danger they were putting themselves in.
Mothers tried to console their confused and frightened children, and hide their young
eyes from the televisions.
Mother’s left without a husband to bring up their children alone are a hero
category of their own. Kenneth Van Auken was a bond broker who worked in the
Towers. He had a passion for carpentry and gardening and finished building an arbor in
his yard a week before he died. In October, the clematis plants that the Van Aukens had
picked out together came in the mail. Mrs. Van Auken planted the flowers, and she and
her two children go out to that arbor to grieve. The strength that Mrs. Van Auken had to
have for her children was heroic. Now they have a beautiful arbor to remind them of their
father, and it even inspired 12 year old Sarah Van Auken to write a song about her father.
Included in the description of a hero, is someone who is admired through the eyes
of another. If just one person looks at another as a hero, that person has done something
admirable. Each and every American was a hero on September 11th. If you gave a teary
embrace to a crying mother, or sent flowers to the ground zero sight, or brought in
supplies to your school to send to the Red Cross, you were a hero. If you sang the
national anthem with a new meaning to it, you were a hero. Countries all over the world
saw the way America came together in the year of 2001. Families, who never had
anything in common, found friendship among similar feelings of loss, and had new
shoulders on which to lean. If you are a mother or a father who remained strong for your
child, you were a hero. If you say “I am proud to be an American,” you are a hero.