In a ceremony at John Hersey High School Friday to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., a host of special guests helped students — who weren’t born when the tragedies took place — understand why the country will “never forget.”
Local first responders, military veterans and Gold Star families, along with former Gov. Pat Quinn, school officials and a few students, spoke to seniors and recounted the events of that fateful day. Officials also spoke about serving one’s community as a way to remember those who lost their lives — on 9/11 and as part of serving in the military.
“I think it’s important for those students who were born (after 9/11) to make sure that we keep the memory of those who ran into those buildings,” Quinn said to the students. “You want to find ways to help somebody else. That is really…the best way to remember all of those who lost their lives on (and after) 9/11.”
The special assembly, held in the school gym, came a day before the nation would remember Sept. 11, 2001 when two hijacked airplanes crashed into the top of the Twin Towers in New York City, another flew into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and passengers — hailed as heroes — fought back against terrorists who had taken over their plane before it crashed into a Pennsylvania field.
The assembly also paid tribute to military soldiers killed in action.
The ceremonyopened with a student singing the “Star-Spangled Banner,” and Hersey Principal Keir Rogers challenging the students to find ways they can serve others. During and after the ceremony, Patty Grow, associate principal for instruction, talked about the school’s goal of service.
“We wanted it to be purposeful when Gov. Quinn came to speak and truly emphasize the meaning of service, as far as what our school does,” she told Pioneer Press.
Students were also shown a video that featured interviews from first responders of 9/11, as well as footage and photos of the towers collapsing. The video also showed fire and police department personnel working to rescue people from the wreckage.
During the assembly, health care professionals, first responders and veterans also unfurled an American flag as a tribute to service members while Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” played.
Additionally, a collection of banners, titled “Portrait of a Soldier,” was put on display in the school library earlier in the week. The memorial features more than 300 hand-drawn portraits of all those from Illinois who died serving the United States following 9/11. The portraits were drawn by some of Quinn’s staffers over the years and given to the families of fallen soldiers as he attended the funeral of each soldier.
Three of the soldiers honored in the memorial are from Arlington Heights, with two of them being Hersey alums: Pfc. William Newgard, of Lake Zurich, who was in the Army and died Dec. 29, 2006 at the age of 20; Major Paul Syverson III, of Lake Zurich, who served in the Army and was killed in Iraq June 16, 2004 at the age of 32; Lance Cpl. James Stack, of Arlington Heights, who served in the Marine Corps and was killed in Afghanistan Nov. 10, 2010 at the age of 20. Newgard and Syverson graduated from Hersey, officials said.
Surviving immediate relatives of the three fallen soldiers, called Gold Star families, were given yellow roses during the assembly to thank them for their sacrifices. Paul and Joy Syverson, parents of Major Syverson, told Pioneer Press about their son’s time at Hersey. They said the school has supported the family over the years, including dedicating a football game to their son after his death.
“I think there’s been a resurgence (in remembering 9/11),” Joy Syverson said. “I don’t think they will ever forget…if young people are exposed to it.”
Students Elliot Carter, Ben Clawson, Dani Skiko and Ann Matthew also spoke to the seniors about certain initiatives going on that help support veterans. They also spoke about the “Unselfie Movement,” which is aimed at helping people in the community then posting a picture on social media about the deed.
After the ceremony, Skiko said while she and her fellow students weren’t yet born when the 9/11 attacks occurred, from what she’s heard, the country came together and united after the historic tragedies, saying there wasn’t a division in people.
Matthew said after 9/11, her uncle joined the military, which was something that had not happened in her family before.
Carter said the school assembly brought 9/11 into perspective for him, adding there hasn’t really been anything that’s happened in his life that is equivalent.
“Our families and friends could have been there,” Clawson said. “It’s great to show respect and honor those who helped save them.”
During the ceremony, Quinn, who was governor from 2009 to 2015, stressed how each of the fallen soldiers were their own person with interests and lives, and not all the same. But, he said, what connected them was their understanding of the importance of service.
“You can see, in your library, their faces,” he said during his speech. “When you look into the eyes of those service members on that wall, you see their soul. And their soul was one of service. All of those men and women, they’re not all the same. … But they understood that there was a tie that binds all of us. This ethic of service. … That volunteering for something outside of yourself makes you a better person.”
