NEW YORK (WTNH) — As the nation prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, communities across the country are finding new ways to preserve memories of the day and educate a generation born after it happened.
In New York City, preparations are underway for Friday’s memorial ceremony at the World Trade Center, where the names of every victim will once again be read aloud. The annual observance comes as the country reflects on how the legacy of 9/11 is being passed on a quarter-century later.
One reminder of that history can be found in Connecticut.
PATH train car 745, which carried commuters from Hoboken, New Jersey, to the World Trade Center on the morning of Sept. 11, is now preserved at the Shoreline Trolley Museum in East Haven. The rail car survived the attacks and remains largely unchanged, offering visitors a glimpse into a moment frozen in time.
Wayne Sanford, the museum’s general manager and a local fire chief on 9/11, said visitors often react emotionally when they step into the car.
“They don’t talk. They don’t ask a question. They’re just kind of in awe that you’re standing in a car that survived the 9/11 attacks,” Sanford said.
Educators are also working to ensure younger generations understand the significance of the attacks. At FDR High School in Brooklyn, lessons focus not only on what happened on Sept. 11, but also on the events leading up to it.
“You have to get them to understand the events that led up to it, what took place on that day. Sometimes you have to separate fact from fiction,” said Greg Monte, a social studies teacher.
Across the United States, pieces of the World Trade Center serve as physical reminders of the attacks. In Lafayette, Louisiana, a steel beam from the site stands in a public square as a memorial and educational tool.
“Those who can’t really go to New York, for example, and visit over there, you can come right here in Lafayette and still have that feeling, that connection to it,” said Alton Trahan, chief of fire prevention for the Lafayette Fire Department.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation also travels the country with a piece of World Trade Center steel, allowing people to see and touch a piece of history. Visitor Chris Laframboise said the experience brought back memories of the aftermath of the attacks.
“Being able to see it today just brings you back to that feeling of seeing what we saw at ground zero,” Laframboise said.
At Ground Zero, the memorial pools marking the footprints of the Twin Towers remain the centerpiece of the national remembrance. The names of those killed in the attacks are inscribed around the pools, a lasting tribute to nearly 3,000 lives lost. Memorial ceremonies are scheduled to continue Friday as the nation marks 25 years since the attacks.