9/11 Through the Eyes of Children
Sept. 11, 2006 — -- In America's time of grief, their young words of wisdom echoed through the darkness.
Dozens of children wrote letters to the rescue workers who rushed to save those in need on Sept. 11, 2001.
Whether they lived five miles away or 500, their sentiment hit home.
"Dear firefighters: I hope that you all will help everybody that needs help. … It must be hard not to cry because of everybody that is missing," wrote Brittany Tassin from Louisiana, 10 years old at the time.
Michael Rieger wrote, "I admire your courage. I wish in some way that I could help you in New York. … Your bravery is admired by millions of children in the USA."
Their poignant letters said, in the simplest of ways, what all of America was thinking.
Adam Charnin-Aker was 7 then and living across the Hudson River in Syosset, N.Y.
"We were close enough to smell the ashes and so close that we weren't allowed to go outside for recess the next day at school … and you could see the smoke and it was horrific," wrote Adam, chronicling the unforgettable images from ground zero.
Brittany remembers watching the horror unfold.
"I was in my first class in 5th grade and my English teacher, Miss Arnold came in and she was like, turn on the TV, turn on the TV. … It was scary because all the people were just running, trying to find their family members and it was so horrible."
A haven for rescue workers a block from the World Trade Center, the historic St. Paul's Chapel also became a clearinghouse of letters and drawings.
Workers from the U.S. Postal Service brought 13,000 there -- 12-year-old Keli Markley's letter was one of them.
"When I wrote the letter, I was just, I was just hoping that maybe someone would read it, a firefighter and they'd be tired and they'd be sweating, and then maybe hurting and then sad," Keli said. "And they'd really be empowered by it and just give them a little strength to go back out there."
Nine-year-old Michael's letter cried out for what everyone wanted: answers.
"I was a little sad at the moment and I really wanted to know why someone did this. Like who did it and why they did it," he said.
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