Students Listen, Learn at Moving 9/11 Presentation

PECONIC, NY — With Sunday marking 15 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a group gathered Wednesday at the Peconic Community Center for a presentation outlining the history that led to the horror of that dark day.

The informative presentation about the history of 9/11 was given by Capt. Charles Sanders, Commander of Southold's Griswold-Terry-Glover American Legion Post 803, who outlined for the group, comprised mainly of Girl Scouts and students, what led to the attacks.

"We say we'll never forget, but we do forget, because time goes fast," Sanders said. With some young people not even born on 9/11, he said, "It's really hard for you to understand what this means."

And so, Sanders,a captain in the United States Army National Guard, who has just recently returned from Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, where he worked with detainees, gave a timeline of events aiming to explain "how in the world we got to this point. How did we get here?" he said.

Russia, then called the Soviet Union, Sanders said, describing the Soviet Union's "full scale invasion" into Afghanistan; Osama bin Laden, from Saudi Arabia, was a "black sheep, a radical" he said, describing the jihads.

When jihads decided to fight beyond their home turf, on a global scale, it was "a very significant change in history," Sanders said.

After the Soviets lost, a civil war emerged in Afghanistan; Ahmad Sham Massoud had western leanings; Mullah Mohammed Omar led the Taliban movement, which emerged in 1994 and took Kabul, the capital of Afghanistn in 1996.

The Taliban, which literally means "student" but has come to mean Islamic extremists, is currently waging war in Afghanistan.

Osama bin Laden formed Al-Qaeda in 1988 with the idea of global, rather than a local, jihad.

Sanders then gave an overview of Saddam Hussein, and the Persian Gulf War, which he joined the United States Marine Corps to fight.

Meanwhile, Sanders said, Osama bin Laden's fury was mounting over Americans fighting on his home turf. "That was the birth of global jihad," he said.

After being forced out of Saudi Arabia, Osama bin Laden went to Sudan to plan the attacks.

The first attack on United States soil was the first bombing of the World Trade Center in January, 1993.

The Yemen hotel bombing took place in 1992, he said, and in 1996, Osama bin Laden went to Afghanistan, where he connected with Mullah Mohammed Omaar; bin Laden set up training camps.

In 1998, Sanders said, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri signed a fatwa, or formal religious ruling, declaring the killing of northern Americans and their allies an individual duty of every Muslim and calling for a Holy War against the infidel.

Next came the United States embassy bombing in 1998 and, in 2000, the terrorist bombing of the USS Cole.

On Sept. 9, 2001, Al-Qaeda killed Ahmad Shah Massoud.

And then came the day the world changed forever, when the terrorist attacks of 9/11 stole the world's innocence.

Calverton shooting range used to train terrorists.

Sanders told the students that nearby, the Calverton shooting range was "used to train terrorists" with a double agent joining the Army and a mosque in Brooklyn before coming to train at Calverton.

"This hits home because it's where we live. Things can be that close to us," Sanders said.

Sanders, who just returned from deployment at Guantanamo Bay detention camp, discussed prisoners still there.

A teachable moment

The Girl Scouts thanked Sanders for the presentation, and for his service.

The Girl Scouts, from Service Unit 60, shared their feelings about 9/11 after the event.

"We all tend to think history starts when we walk into a room," said Tracey Orlando, who is organizing a Southold Town 9/11 memorial service on Sunday. "But you have a generation now that wasn't even born yet on 9/11. If we don't tell them what happened, it's going to get watered down."

"Education is really, really important," Capt. Sanders agreed. When he deployed in 2012 to Afghanistan for the second time, he said many of the young men, embarking on their first deployment, were only 9 and 10 years old on 9/11. "It's imperative that you have a chance to read and understand a little bit about history," he said.

Sidney Brewer, a seventh grader in Mattituck, said students don't learn much about 9/11 in school. In sixth and fifth grades, the subject was mentioned briefly and teachers spoke of it sometimes, she said.

Faith Ann Shipman, who also attends the Mattituck-Cutchogue school district, said, "It's important to take time to understand what happened."

But despite the fact that the subject was only touched on briefly in elementary school, both girls said their families sat and watched TV coverage every year on the anniversary.

Sanders said it's especially difficult because in some school districts, there is no 9/11 curriculum in the elementary school, just a moment of silence.

Dr. Anne Smith, Superintendent at the Mattituck-Cutchogue Union Free School District, said, on Friday morning, following the Pledge of Allegiance, Mattituck Principal Shawn Petretti will do a reading, followed by a moment of silence to honor the victims and heroes of September 11.

In the social studies department, teachers said what they have usually done is to talk to classes on or near the 9/11 anniversary "in an informal way about what we personally remember, generally give an objective idea of what happened, and ask kids what they know or have heard. We also, of course, have answered questions," Smith said teachers said. "Beyond that, we're chronologically driven so that means it doesn't really come up in 7th or 9th grade," the teachers said. "In 8th, 10th and 11th it comes up toward the end of the year in the broader context of religious fundamentalism, modern terrorism, and U.S. policy, in grades 8 and 11. It also is discussed in the 12th grade Government and Economics classes in the more issues driven forums there."

Many feel it's critical to discuss the events of 9/11 with students.

Southold Girl Scout Troop 94 leader Nicole Alloway added, "I feel it’s really important for children to understand. They may not teach them what has happened, and yet, they are asking them to form opinions. We're always being exposed to opinions; for example, who to vote for in local and national elections. If children don't know what's happened before, they can't make a decision."

Girl Scout leader Nicole Brewer said in her family's home, there is a different perspective, with 9/11 a frequent topic of discussion and lives lost, honored often. Her husband is a police officer and, on 9/11, he and other North Fork firefighters were all gearing up to head to New York. "They didn't know where they were needed, they just wanted to help."

She added that the Girl Scouts work every year, sending cookies overseas, along with letters to veterans — and learning about the day that changed their lives forever.

"These are teachable moments, beyond just cookies," she said, adding that it's up to Girl Scout leaders to decide "how much we can pull back the curtain from the parts that are really ugly, so that kids are informed."

Brewer added, "History is not alway pretty. It's hard and it's tough to stomach sometimes. But on 9/11, you bear witness to happened. You do it for people who's lives were destroyed. It's the least you can do."

Added her daughter Ainsley Brewer, speaking about what 9/11 has taught her: "You have to live every day like it's the last moment you'll ever have. Hopefully, you won't have any regrets."

A 9/11 tribute

Southold Town's 9/11 committee along with Tracey Orlando and the Fire Chiefs Council will be hosting an event on Sunday, Sept. 11 at Jean Cochran Park.

The program will follow the same format as the 10 year anniversary ceremony: All North Fork fire departments will participate, marking the time the buildings fell with ringing of 15 bells for each of the 15 years, at 9:59 a.m. and again at 10:28 a.m..

The park will be open to the public at 9 a.m.; those attending will receive flags to be placed in the park to memorialize lives lost.

There will be flags available at the park for each of the lives lost.

The ceremony will begin at 9:50 a.m. and conclude at 10:30 a.m.

At the conclusion of the 9/11 ceremony, all local fire departments will also present their wreaths at the Southold Volunteer Firefighters Memorial.

Southold students, Southold's Griswold-Terry-Glover American Legion Post 803, and Girl Scouts of Service Unit #60, will also participate in the event and a choir will sing; lapel ribbons will also be distributed.

Patch photo by Lisa Finn.