FORT PIERCE \u2014 For the students of Fort Pierce Westwood Academy, Sept. 11, 2001, is history.<\/p>\n
None of them were alive when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and United Flight 93. They know the day through videos, photographs, history lessons and the stories of people who experienced it firsthand.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Sept. 11, the school\u2019s Panther Battalion JROTC helped make sure the memory of that day remains alive.<\/p>\n
A meaningful part of the ceremony was the personal perspective shared by guest speaker Ashley Granberg, who was living in New Jersey when the Sept. 11 attacks occurred. Like many who lived in the metropolitan area at the time, Granberg lost loved ones in the attacks.<\/p>\n
Her story served as a reminder that, for thousands of families, the tragedy was not simply a historic event but a deeply personal loss.<\/p>\n
The students organized and participated in a 9\/11 Remembrance Ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the attacks, honoring those who died, the first responders who rushed toward danger, service members who answered the call and the families forever changed by the events.<\/p>\n
For some cadets, the ceremony offered a more personal connection to an event they could otherwise know only from a textbook.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though I wasn\u2019t alive at the time that it happened,\u201d said Temperance Sinclair, a JROTC captain who is responsible for logistics and supplies, \u201cwatching the videos and hearing our guest speakers speak about the experience that she had, it impacted me. It was just a very tragic event.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sinclair helped behind the scenes, making sure flags and other supplies were ready for the ceremony.<\/p>\n
She said the event reminded her of the tragedy of 9\/11, but also of the courage and selfless service displayed in its aftermath.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that the event today helped us recognize the people who have helped out, have given their personal courage and their selfless service,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Michelle Sama, another JROTC captain, served as the battalion\u2019s public affairs officer. She documented the ceremony through photographs and helped with social media, flyers and community service events.<\/p>\n
Sama said the ceremony provided an opportunity for the school community to come together and honor those who died and the families who endured the aftermath.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like the event really highlights how the United States came together as a nation to support everyone that was going through it at the time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Angela Rivera, the battalion commander, said being born after 9\/11 does not make the event any less important to today\u2019s students.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a lesson for all of us to learn,\u201d Rivera said. \u201cJust because we weren\u2019t there at that time doesn\u2019t mean that we can\u2019t always still learn it. Or doesn\u2019t mean that it doesn\u2019t affect us personally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rivera said having first responders at the ceremony was especially meaningful for the students, giving them an opportunity to better understand the people who put themselves in danger to help others.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were people who lost their lives trying to save others,\u201d she said. \u201cSo I think this was a very wholesome moment for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
First Sgt. Victor Thomas, director of the JROTC program, said the ceremony was the first 9\/11 remembrance held at Westwood. The students had about 30 days to put it together while juggling testing and other school activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey did an outstanding job,\u201d Thomas said, praising the students\u2019 speeches and the color guard and flag detail.<\/p>\n
For Army instructor Aldoray Lewis, the ceremony carried a different weight.<\/p>\n
Lewis was an adult when the attacks occurred and remembers being in a Publix in Florida when he learned what was happening. At the time, he was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. He was called back to his military post and boarded a plane the next day, cutting his vacation short.<\/p>\n
\u201c(The ceremony) took me back to that day,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cThat\u2019s one thing we can\u2019t forget because it did shape what our world is today.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the cadets who planned and participated in Friday\u2019s ceremony, remembering 9\/11 is not about remembering something they personally witnessed.<\/p>\n
It is about making sure the people and sacrifices of that day are not forgotten by the generation that came afterward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT PIERCE \u2014 For the students of Fort Pierce Westwood Academy, Sept. 11, 2001, is history. None of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403839,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":["post-403838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403838\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}