Marking one of America’s seismic tragedies 24 years ago, students and community members gathered at Maricopa High School this morning for a solemn remembrance of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The event was led by retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Allen Kirksey Jr.
Kirksey, the school’s senior aerospace science instructor, welcomed guests and cadets to the annual flag-raising ceremony.
“The cadets weren’t even born yet,” he said. “Twenty-four years ago, America was changed forever. History books were rewritten, and families are never the same again. But they will learn how to carry on this legacy.”
The school choir sang Amazing Grace, followed by a moment of silence at 8:40 a.m. in memory of the nearly 3,000 lives lost. By that time on Sept. 11, 2001, both World Trade Center towers had fallen, the Pentagon had been hit, and Flight 93 had crashed in a Pennsylvania field. New York City was searching for survivors and bracing for the global response that would define the next 20 years of U.S. military service abroad.
Fire Chief Brad Pitassi, Police Chief Mark Goodman, Vice Mayor Henry Wade, Pinal County Supervisor Rich Vitiello, Maricopa schools Superintendent Tracey Lopeman and school board members joined the high school’s Junior ROTC cadets in raising the flag. Cadets stood at attention during the ceremony.
Connor Fisher, a senior in the Air Force JROTC program, said he and his classmates have studied the events of Sept. 11 — an attack that took place six years before he was born — in depth.
“A lot of times it’s just through textbooks or through media, through people,” Fisher said. “With ROTC, we’ve gone through the footage, we’ve watched the news, we’ve read the reports. We’ve been through majority of it.”
For Fisher, talking about 9/11 is also part of the healing process. “A lot of life events leave a scar over people and people like to heal over time,” he said. “Part of healing is getting through what happened, and we learn what happened.”
He said despite his age, he felt he could make a real-world impact.
“It feels almost noble,” Fisher said. “It’s nice to be able to do something that helps other people out and that reflects upon this day in our past.”
The challenge of teaching 9/11 to students who were not alive when it happened has been an ongoing conversation in schools.
In 2013, on the 12th anniversary of the attacks, InMaricopa reported on Santa Rosa Elementary students learning about the tragedy for the first time. “For kids like Airen, who were not yet alive on that tragic day, 9/11 is merely history — a story learned from a book, a teacher or a parent,” that report noted. At the time, Principal Eva Safraneck said educators had to balance presenting the reality of the attacks with protecting children from trauma.
“How do you present kids without scaring them but still make them aware of what happened?” she said.
For Fisher and his fellow cadets, that balance comes through ceremony, study and remembrance. Kirksey closed today’s event with words of resilience.
“By us coming together today conducting this ceremony, each and every one of us show the American spirit that will never be broken,” he said. “We will always show hope, faith, and have resilience.”
Similar events took place at Legacy Traditional and Maricopa Elementary Schools. Maricopa police also marked the anniversary with a public statement:
“On this day, 24 years ago, our nation changed forever. We honor the thousands of lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001, including the brave first responders who ran toward danger and made the ultimate sacrifice. We will never forget their courage, their service, and the countless families forever impacted. Let us also remember to stand united as a community, supporting one another with compassion and resilience.”
