Views from the Classroom

REMEMBER 9/11 | FEATURE

Larry Fulmer was a 13–year–old middle school student when he heard words over a classroom public address system that would stay with him forever.

“The World Trade Center in NYC has just been hit.” Two weeks prior, Larry had been on the observation deck of Tower 1. The faces of the people he had seen working there immediately came to mind. He wondered if they were safe or even alive.

Larry’s mother picked him up from school. They both thought of Larry’s uncle, who worked as a pharmaceutical salesman in Manhattan. Fortunately, they learned he was safe.

Today, Larry Fulmer is a Salvation Army officer (pastor) in Altoona, Pa., but his feelings from 20 years ago are still raw.

“I remember where I was and the faces at the World Trade Center (WTC). I remember how that day made me feel at such a young age.”

To children, New York City feels particularly alive in ways that other cities don’t. New York is the home of their movie superheroes and TV sitcom characters. It’s where a museum, a baseball game, an amusement park or a zoo are just a subway ride away.

During Christmas season, the decorated tree at Rockefeller Center looms larger than life, as does the city itself.

However, on Sept. 11, 2001, the “city that never sleeps” got a wakeup call from terrorists. As a result, the entire United States changed dramatically, as did our children's views of freedom and safety.

These young people, who had to suddenly leave their classrooms and go home to witness hours of round–the–clock news coverage on the day’s event, felt fear and confusion on a different level. They will always remember where they were and how they felt on that day.

Walking home

“I remember that I was in the 5th grade and living in Brooklyn at the time,” says Lieutenant Nereus Mogaria, who is today the assistant pastor at the Salvation Army’s church in Port Jervis, N.Y. “That day, we noticed smoky clouds traveling close to where we were. My classmates and I were confused.”

The situation became clearer to the kids when their teacher walked into the classroom. In tears, she explained that the Twin Towers had been attacked, and every student needed to gather his or her things. Their parents would arrive soon to pick them up.

“I remember my dad came to pick me up and we walked home. We didn’t say much to each other. He just wanted to get home and make sure the family was together and safe; we were afraid of more attacks. Although I didn’t see it at the time, I’m sure my dad was worried about the possible negative backlash of being wrongfully blamed for the day’s events, because we were minorities.”

Illustration by Joe Marino

At home, Nereus’ parents sat their children down and helped them understand what had happened. They watched the news on TV stations that were still available; many local channels became inactive when the towers fell.

“I was scared; it was tragic to see and hear what was going on. I will always be able to recall what happened that day,” says Mogaria.

Sacrifices made

Alyssa Pratt, supportive services coordinator at The Salvation Army in Carlisle, Pa., thought that her mother had come to pick her up from first grade for a surprise visit to the dentist. But when she arrived, Alyssa noticed the fear that gripped her mother’s face.

“She told me that ‘bad guys’ had crashed two airplanes into buildings in New York City,” says Alyssa. At home, she watched the news and tried to make sense of what was going on. But it was hearing a phone conversation between her mother and a family friend that made the situation feel closer to the family than it had before. “If they attack close to home, I want us all to be together,” she heard her mother say. Words like that coming from a parent would frighten any child. Despite not fully being able to understand the situation, Alyssa still felt sick to her stomach.

Gus Moreno, Alyssa’s father and a veteran of Operation Desert Storm, knew that this attack on the United States would likely lead to war. He talked to his family and mentioned that parents like him were being called to deploy, and eventually he would also be called.

Three years later, the memories of 9/11 returned when Moreno was deployed to Iraq for 14 months. Says Alyssa, “I remember the tears, the goodbyes, the constant worry, the television news updates, the moments of waiting for a letter or a call, and the times we longed to receive word that my father was safe after reports of an attack near him.

“Every holiday without him was blurred by tears, and every milestone in those months felt empty. By the grace of God, my dad returned to us, but many others did not,” says Alyssa.

Seventeen years after his last tour, Moreno still lives with PTSD and physical ailments from his service. Alyssa says that the sacrifice her father and others like him made after 9/11 for their country and family, should never be forgotten.

“Thank a veteran for his or her sacrifice, because it goes far beyond their deployment,” says Alyssa.

Time at Ground Zero

Lieutenant Dontay Gibson, pastor at the Plainfield Corps in N.J., remembers being instructed to hide under his desk when his class was informed about the attacks. During recess, he looked to see smoke from the towers, but the late summer sky was clear.

Dontay’s mother, Christine Tilley, was a cadet at the Salvation Army’s College for Officer Training in Suffern, N.Y. She was in her second year of training to be a Salvation Army pastor and lived with her son on campus.

“When I got back from school, everyone was in the student lounge watching the news. I didn’t understand what was happening or the severity of the situation,” remembers Gibson.

Cadet Tilley was assigned to Manhattan to distribute food and supplies to first responders. She worked late into the day with Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) personnel at Ground Zero. When Dontay came home from school, other cadets watched him as he did his homework and played with their children.

Illustration by Joe Marino

“My mother would come home tired and pretty much done for the day. I knew where she had been and why, but I did not know the real danger she was in until years later, when I heard some of the stories she told,” says Gibson.

Before Tilley had answered the call for officership, she had worked at World Trade Center (WTC) 7, the 47–story office building to the north of the main World Trade Center.

Gibson remembers, “I used to walk underneath Tower 1 after school to go to day care while my mom worked. When she went into training, her boss at the time encouraged her to come back to work at WTC 7 in case The Salvation Army didn’t work out.”

On the afternoon of 9/11, fires raged out of control for hours at WTC 7 until it collapsed.

Living his testimony

Laura Crowell’s 9th grade English classroom in Berwick, Pa., was one of the few in the school that had a TV with cable access.

“My teacher, classmates, and I sat and watched in disbelief. I honestly don’t remember what happened the rest of the day. It’s like a blurred memory now,” says Crowell, a former program assistant for The Salvation Army in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

What Crowell does remember clearly is seeing her father, Captain Adam Hench, deployed to Ground Zero with an EDS crew from the Salvation Army’s Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware Division. Laura’s mother, Captain (now Major) Tammy Hench, ran the household and the Army’s Berwick, Pa., church while Adam was gone.

“Our church programs continued in my dad's absence. My mom always had volunteers show up to keep things running. Family and friends stayed with us to help care for my younger sister and run errands for my mom. The advisory board and Rotary Club donated funds and supplies,” says Laura.

When Adam returned, he and Tammy shared their testimonies about how every need had been met in his absence. The spirit of serving was present at Ground Zero and across the Eastern Territory, where community members stepped up to assist in any way they could.

Adam’s deployment in New York had personally affected him. He had always taught his family that serving others is a way of serving the Lord. But serving at Ground Zero made him see his own life and ministry differently.

“My father cried over what he had seen and the stories of loss he had heard,” says Laura. “But from then, until his promotion to Glory in 2013, he lived his own life more fully. He knew that it can all change so quickly, just as it did on 9/11.”

by HUGO BRAVO

Illustrations by Joe Marino