On Sep. 11, 2001, although most of us were still very young and didn’t quite understand what had happened, we knew something terrible had occurred. Each person had a different experience on 9/11: some of us experienced painful losses. Others were shaken and scared. Still others were entirely unaware. These Langley students share their unique experiences and thoughts from that tragic day.

Christina Allrick (9)

“I was safe at home at the time,” remembered Allrick of her experience. “I didn’t quite comprehend it at the time.” Although Allrick was too young to completely grasp the enormity of the event, she confirmed she did “feel upset.”

“My parents’ friend was in the World Trade Center. He survived, but it was really scary.”

Eventually, though, her father wanted her to understand what everything that had occurred. “He took my family and me to New York and we walked around Ground Zero,” she said.

Alex Andrejev (10)

Sophomore Alex Andrejev was in a daycare at the time. “My parents came and picked me up, though,” she explained. “And then they told me what happened.” She went on to recall that her reaction was “to freak out”.

“It took a while, though,” Andrejev added, “for me to fully understand.” Alex would later find out that a good friend’s dad had died. “That was really upsetting to me. It was just shocking.”

Cole Forrer (11)

Cole Forrer’s reaction was shock.  “I was in school at Spring Hill Elementary and
I remember everyone started leaving. I didn’t know why.” Forrer soon found out.

“The TV was on at home and I realized what was going on,” he remembered. “I couldn’t believe it.” Forrer also recalled that the significance of the situation really hit him when school was cancelled the next day. “I was so young though, so it was hard to understand”, he stated.

Daniel Golden (12)

For Daniel Golden, the impact of 9/11 didn’t hit him until long after the event.

“I was in school in Maryland at Carter Rock Elementary,” he recalled, “and no one there told us anything.” When he returned home, he remembers seeing his mom glued to the television screen, but he didn’t quite grasp what was being broadcasted.

“I just remember she seemed worried,” Golden noted.  Daniel’s mom had good reason to be on edge. Although the second grader wasn’t aware of this at the time, his father had been in the Pentagon at that very moment.  Daniel’s family tried their best to keep him blissfully ignorant, and he remained unaware of what exactly was going on.

“My Grandpa wouldn’t let me turn on the TV,” he explained. “He didn’t want me to see what was happening so he kept insisting that I play him in checkers.” Daniel was glad he was protected from the truth. His father survived, and he was saved from the weight of worry.

Katie McGrath (12)

Katie McGrath was another student who, at such a young age, found it difficult to grasp what this terrible event meant. “I was in Ms. Paul’s second grade class and all of a sudden people started leaving, one after the other.” She added that she “was curious as to why, but didn’t think much of it.”

“When I came home,” McGrath went on to explain, “my mom was staring at the TV and didn’t even notice when I came in.”

Even after she was told of the events that had passed, Katie still didn’t understand enough to feel serious grief. She remembered writing in her diary about trivial things later that night and continuing life as normal. Only when she was older did she come to recognize the severity of what had happened.