Eighteen years after the events of September 11, 2001, the annual commemorations and memorials continue. The horrors of that day are vivid in many people’s minds, but there is now an entire generation with no firsthand memory of the tragedy.
Children and teenagers learn details from their parents and others about how they first heard what had happened and where they were when they received the news. Angel Perez, age 16, says his father lived nearby and witnessed the attacks. “He saw the building from far away,” he says. “A plane flew by and hit it, and he heard the explosion.”
Nearly two decades later, the state of New York has moved to preserve the memory and history of 9/11 for future generations. Enacted this past Monday, a new law requires schools to pay tribute by observing a moment of silence every year on September 11.
