HILLIARD, Ohio — Commemorations for those who bravely sacrificed and lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, happened across the nation and locally in central Ohio on Wednesday.
Hilliard Station sixth graders observed the memorial wall at First Responders Park in Westerville.
“We lost thousands of people, first responders, loved ones,” said Hilliard student Caden.
While these students were not alive during the terror attacks 23 years ago, learning about the deadliest terror attack in American history is a priority for the community.
“These first responders gave up their lives to save the American citizens and we need to remember them,” said Hilliard student Zak.
The memorial features walls inscribed with the names of those who perished and other memorabilia including a metal sculpture made of steel from the World Trade Center.
Students showed 10TV their favorite parts of the memorial site and laid out what they’d learned about that day in class.
“This is a piece of one of the beams in the World Trade Center. It's bent and steel is relatively hard, so it shows how much force the plane gave to the building,” said Zak.
Teachers with the Hilliard City School District say the learning opportunity is imperative for future generations.
“We connect them to different sources here, like primary sources that actually came from the crash sites and that’s very interesting to the students that didn’t live through it like we did,” said Hilliard teacher Joan Pitstick.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed in New York City, Washington, D.C. and outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania during the attacks.
“It was a time when our country came together. It’s a time when our country needs to come together again and learn from that,” said Pitstick.
Hilliard teachers say they will continue this experience each year to ensure students don’t forget the significance of this day.